Spark Of Rebellion: War-birds
by Caefer-Chief
Summary: The final installment of the Spark Of Rebellion Trilogy. War has struck Panem, old alliances are shattered, and the people the Phoenix once held closest have either died or been separated. After waking up from coma, the Phoenix must adapt to the new world, and learn to be more than a rebel. The Phoenix will have to take up the mantle of leadership. (Vague to avoid spoilers)
1. Frozen Sleep

**A/N: Here's the final story in the Spark of Rebellion Trilogy! Anyone who hasn't have a read of the first two stories, I recommend you do otherwise you won't understand most of characters and the plot behind this story.**

A bright light fills my vision. Followed by a high pitched beep that plays in a smooth rhythm. As the light slowly fade a different picture paints itself in my mind, I'm in a silver room on a white bed with only a pair of boxers on. What's going on?

I rise from the bed, groaning as my muscles struggle to move. Something doesn't seem right. I've lost a small amount of muscle, barely enough to be noticed by the naked eye but I can feel the difference, and my body seems paler, how long have I been out for?

I look to the end of my bed, where a silver door rests calmly. Last thing I remember is being on an aircraft when it was hit by... Something, I honestly don't have a clue what it was, all I know is that it managed to throw me and... Kate? Kate! Where's Kate!? The machine to my right starts beeping loudly, sending pulses of pain through my head.

I go to get out of the bed, but a set of needles rests in my arms and legs, pumping fluids into my body whilst holding me down on this bed.

Suddenly the door opens and a man in a white lab coat strides through with a clipboard. He stares at me with eyes of awe. I tilt my head to the side to indicate my confusion. He looks behind him and mutters something, I hear a series of muttered voices answer before he takes a step forward and the door shuts behind him.

"Seth Greenlaw?" He asks with a worried look. He glances to the wall to my right, a wall with a mirror embedded in it. I've seen these before, I'm being observed from the other side. "Is that your name?"

"Aye." I reply, tugging on the wires and pipes coming from my body. "Where am I?"

"You're in District 13, you..." He scans through the clipboard, his eyes darting all over the pieces of paper hidden behind the wood. "You were part of an aerial bombard-"

"I know, I was there." I reply sarcastically. The man shoots me a unimpressed look, obviously he doesn't have a sense of humour for the finer parts of District 7's renowned sarcasm.

"Obviously, well you've been in coma, and we've used a series of chemicals, electrical signals and-"

"Look Doc, please just tell me what's going on so i can get back to District 7." I interrupt, I was never much for this scientific bull-shit. As interesting as it was in school, if I don't need to know the information then there's no point in telling me it.

"Very well." He straightens himself and lets the clipboard fall to his side. "You've been in coma for eighteen years."

"What?" I ask. it can't be, eighteen years? I look the same as I did when I left District 7!

"Yes, eighteen years. We've kept you young and fit using these machines, but this isn't the world you grew up in." He informs me with a sad face. He looks in his late thirties, maybe he's been tending to me all these years and has been dreading this moment? "To put it into context for you, the seventy-fourth Hunger Games have just passed."

"And now I wake up?" I ask in disbelief.

"No. Now I have chosen to wake you." A voice comes from behind the man as an older woman strides into the room through the sliding doors. The man turns to face the woman and stands perfectly rigid, if I recall, the peacekeepers called this "standing to attention".

"And who are you?" I ask as she stands proudly before, resting her hands on her hips. Her long silver hair flowing down the side of her head.

"President Coin, I organised your rescue from District 7 eighteen years ago."

"Didn't do a very good job." I counter. That's when I notice her bite the inside of her lip and twitch her head slightly, obviously this woman doesn't have much patience.

"Now isn't the ti-"

"Where's Kate?" I interrupt as the images of that day start flooding back to my mind. Coin gives a small frown as I attempt to move from the bed again. the man comes running over, adjusting my bed so I can sit upright and leaning back into the pillows.

"She's in the same situation as you. I could wake her up, but I fear that's not the wisest option." She retorts as I painfully adjust myself to face Coin more easily. I tilt my head slightly.

"Then what is?" I ask bitterly. After finding out that I've been kept in a form of stasis for her amusement for all these years I really don't feel up for negotiations.

"You." She replies, giving a quick nod to the man. he taps a small green square on the wall to my left and a form of wardrobe comes from the wall. There hangs a pair of my arena clothing and the mask that was given to me by the Capitol. Instantly I feel anxious without it, and long for the fabric to touch my skin. Coin gives another nod as the man throws the mask and glasses to me. I go to slide them on, then realise that I can only put the face mask on because of the machinery. I sigh, leaving my torso and right arm un covered makes me feel almost naked. I then slide the glasses on.

"What about me?" I ask under my protective cloth, feeling my confidence flow back to me as the cold fabric tightens around my skin.

"Remember that you were once the most feared man in Panem? you were once this symbol of rebellion?" She asks with a small and evil smile. Looks like they've finally found my replacement. "We kept you in this state for all these years because, if we awoke you when we could have ten years ago, you would be worth nothing."

"Worth nothing?"

"We lost that uprising, Seth. The idea of the Phoenix died away when you froze in the lake." When she mentions the lake images of me smashing into the icy lake fill my mind. Is this what happened? I nearly froze to death? "I decided to keep you in coma, until we needed you."

"I've been told I've been needed before." I spit back as images of Mrs. Snow fill my mind. A horrible death for a horrible woman. "And what does this have to do with Kate?"

"I'm here to make a deal." Coin announces with a confident stare. I sigh in irritation, Presidents always seems have a small fetish for these deals. "You fight for me, you follow my orders, you be my assassin, and once the war is over I will wake Kate and the two of you can live happily ever after."

"What's the catch?" I ask with a small frown, even though I know it's hidden behind the mask. The man presses a button and I feel the needles slide out of my body as giving me freedom to move. I clumsily slide the rest of my mask over my torso.

"That's up to you." She replies with a small and forced smile. This is where I take my advantage, and search my mind for anything I could use to gain more from this deal of hers.

"I want to fight in District 7, I want to kill Snow, and I want my armour back." I say with a firm voice, which catches Coin off guard.

"You makes lots of demands for a man in my hospital."

"We both know i could easily turn this into my hospital." I reply with a tone of arrogance. Right now I need to show my dark side, I need to rebuild my reputation as monster.

"I admire your courage, but we both know you are far to logical to make an attempt on my life in my own District. You have to remember, I saw your Games, and I know that a hunter won't attack without the advantage." She says with a confident nod. Oh how I enjoy playing this Game. I chuckle slightly to myself as I swing my legs off the bed, allowing my feet to touch the ice cold metallic floor.

"Finally, I have found someone on my level." I reply with a small smile. I hate to put this arrogance on, but right now it's what I need. I slide the clothes on from the strange wardrobe and force it shut. "If I think of any other terms to our contract I'll let you know. Now, what are my orders, ma'am?"

"Go see Doctor Aurelius for psychological analysis, and we'll get you fully briefed on what you've missed over the past few years." She says with a happy smile, but she must know I'm not completely under her command.

"Yes, ma'am." I reply professionally and coldly, I am her assassin after all.

"Carry on, Phoenix."

* * *

I walk into the Doctor's office, another metallic room with a silver desk. Is there no form of diversity in this hell hole. I spot the Doctor, sitting in his black chair by his desk. He points to one of the two chairs on the other side and I sit in silence, crossing my left leg over my right and leaning backwards.

"Eighteen years you've been asleep, how do you feel?"

"With all due respect, can we just get this over with so i can get out there?" I ask in an aggravated tone. I know I shouldn't act like this, but i really don't want to have to deal with my emotions when we have a war to fight. i can break down after I've done my fair share of blood spilling.

"Afraid not, the file we have on you says, and I quote; Mild sociopathic tendencies mixed in with a serious case of post traumatic stress disorder and an isolation problem." He says after reading the brown file in his hands. I sit nervously, hoping that he doesn't go on any further. "It also mentions your anxiety when showing your face to people, following... Contact with a napalm?"

"Long story."

"I'm surprised you haven't accepted therapy sooner." He comments with a small chuckle. I chuckle along with him as he scans another part of the book. "It also mentions your very twisted sense of humour."

"It's not the only thing that's twisted." I add with a small chuckle. Aurelis looks up to me with intense eyes, I stare back through my glasses, trying to show my confidence.

"Look, Seth, even though you've got all these, I think you're going to need them." I tilt my head questionably, why would I need mental problems? "You're twisted, broken, ruined, I can tell just by the act you've put on with me."

"There's no act." I lie, but he gives me a disapproving look and I know I've lost. I let out a long drawn sigh as I bring my feet to the floor, resting my elbows on my knees and my face in my hands. "Look, Doc, I've always been fine when I've got a purpose. Just let me get out there."

"I will, Seth, as long as you promise to come back once the upcoming war is over." He says with a serious expression. "I want to help."

"I know." I reply quietly, admitting my defeat. I look up to him, tears threatening to spill over my eyelids. "I need to see Kate."

"She's still in coma."

"I know, I just need to see she's alive."

"Okay, I'll get you permission to see her in her room." He says with a small smile. Why is everyone so kind here? Well... Everyone except Coin, that clever bitch that she is. Seems strange, no matter who's in charge they always seems to be bastards, is this what the peacekeepers feel? "Just don't expect it to be an easy ride, Seth."

"I'll be fine, Doc."

* * *

How wrong I was.

I walk slowly through the winding corridors, soldiers and civilians stopping and staring at me in awe. Every now and again I'd hear my many titles, Phoenix and Assassin were the main two that were whispered as I walked silently past them like a spectre from the past.

As I approach the door to Kate's room I feel a mixture of dread and excitement fill my body. I stand at the door, frozen in place, wanting to move but my body won't let me. Aurelis stands at my side, observing my behaviour with keen eyes. I hear foot steps to my right, and there comes Coin, in her cold glory.

"You wanted to see her, Phoenix, now is your chance." She says, not looking at me but instead staring at the door. I take a deep inhale, exhaling as I stride through the door, each step me becoming more determined.

As soon as I see her face I stop. As frozen as she is, just staring at her in her emotionless trance. I feel something build in my throat as I struggle to move forward, running my left hand on her arm so I can feel her skin, the warmth coming off it indicating that she's still alive.

"We have a deal, Coin." I mutter as I rest my hands on the bed next to my love, trapped in her frozen sleep. Just like me, she had survived the cold and the pain, and she'll be kept alive as long as I fight.

"Excuse me?" Coin asks, I turn my whole attention towards her as tears threaten to spill over my eyelids.

"We have a deal, I'll fight for you." I say with a sense of clarity. Behind her I can see a crowd gathering in the door way, all of them witnessing history as the Phoenix of District 7 pledges himself in defence of the girl he loves.

"As soon as your done, you'll be reunited." Coin replies. I turn my face away from her and stare down at Kate. Finally my pillars break and I'm gone, I fall to my knees, grasping her hand and bury my face onto it. I throw my glasses to the side and let the tears flow as I allow my heart to break.

"We'll give you the room." Coin says as she and Aurelis walk from the room and the door slides shut behind them.

I cry until the tears run dry, shaking as I rise from the floor I had collapsed on. I slide my glasses back over my face, pull my mask over my nose and kiss Kate's lips.

"It'll be over soon, darling, I'll bring you home."

**A/N: Starting off small and working our way big, have a nice day!**


	2. Prepare

**One Year Later**

I sigh a long drawn and painful sigh as I watch Blight's life leave his body and the cannon sound to indicate his death. There, running behind him with her axe at the ready and her face covered in blood, is Baby Johanna, all grown up and ready for war.

As soon as they were reaped I knew they weren't coming out, and this past year without any of my old friends has changed me into a strange mixture my old self, cold and calculating, and sociable Seth. I'm sure, when the time was right, I could become the loving Seth again, but right now there was a war to fight.

"I'm sorry, from what you've told me he was a good man."

"As soon as he was reaped I knew this would happen." I reply, maybe I was slightly wrong with my last mental comment. I haven't been truly alone, I now have a hunting partner again, but together we are trained to hunt people. "It's not surprising, Miles."

"Well, we need to sort out the training ground for the men being deployed to District 7, you coming?" He asks with a small smile. Miles was a man quite similar to me, same height, same build, except he had short blonde hair and bright blue eyes. His skin was also amazingly pale, almost as white as the snow that falls during winter.

"Of course, you bastards don't know what a forest looks like." I reply as we both turn on our heels and make our way through the winding halls full of people. The residents of District 13 had become used to seeing a man in a mask walking through the halls every day, and most of them ignored it because of their schedules. Luckily I didn't have to follow these, I managed to make that bargain with Coin after my breakdown in Kate's room last year.

"Maybe we don't, but you don't know basic infantry-"

"Doesn't matter when I can beat six of your men in one go, Sergeant." I reply with a small smile under my mask. Over the past year Miles has become exceptionally good at reading my body language and tones of voice, he also understands that right now I want something to distract me from Blight's death.

We both jump into the elevator and descend into the training area below. It consisted of a large hangar like structure, each area specialised to a different part of the world. All together meaning we had thirteen training areas, one for each District and one for the Capitol. Coin decided to leave me in charge of the District 7 training area, and I have to say it's bloody huge. District 13 would takes years to navigate if it wasn't for the maps.

"Phoenix! Sergeant!" A young corporal calls me over, one of the engineers working on trying to recreate the many different Districts. "District 7 is open and ready for your examination, sir."

"Thank you, Corporal, go fetch my weapons and armour and I'll have a look now." I order with a small nod of my head, the Corporal runs off down the corridor as I walk to the twenty foot high wall with the ten foot high sliding doors standing in it. It's strange being called sir, officially I'm considered the rank of lieutenant, but because I'm not an official part of the Districts military force I'm normally just called Phoenix.

"So, what do you think about that mockingjay?" Miles asks with a small nod as he checks his pistol that's strapped to his leg, filled with training rounds for this of course. District 13 seems to love firing small rubber rounds at each other. "Seems like Coin is trying to make this girl the new you."

"They always said I was replaceable." I reply as the corporal jogs over lugging all my equipment. I give him my thanks as I slide out of my civilians clothes and into my armour. It does involve me taking my mask off for a second, but I quickly change into my armoured mask so no one had time to see my face. I slide my sword and tomahawk onto my back sling the rifle on my back as well. Everyone in the hangar seemed to stop and stare when I worse my armour, but none of them has seen the true power that come within it. None of them had seen the fires that I reserve only for death and conflict.

"Harsh, I had to admit, I'm surprise you even accepted the role all those years ago."

"I did it for the District, the same as... Katniss? I think her name was Katniss." Miles chuckles to himself for a moment, and i give him a questioning look.

"Already the boys have started calling her cat piss." Miles added and we both chuckled alongside each other. I sigh as the massive doors open for me and miles to inspect.

"I'm sure she'll do fine." I say as the doors open and I'm left staring into a thick and dense forest. It takes my breath away for the moment, I'd seen the sketches on what it was going to look like but I hadn't seen the finished product. "Oh my..."

"Phoenix?" Miles asks with a worried expression. "You okay?"

"Blast from the past." I reply as I take a deep breath in, the cold air filling my lungs as I enjoy the serenity of the artificial forest.

"It's pretty accurate I take it?" He asks turning his full attention to me, at the end of day, no one knows District 7 better than I do. I walk through the winding trees, instantly noticing one floor.

"It's too neat." I call as the corporal rushes in with a paniced look on his face.

"Too neat? What do you mean too neat? There's trees eve-"

"Corporal." I interrupt with a small chuckle as he turns silent. I beckon him over and point towards the gaps between the trees. "Look there, what do you see?"

"A path."

"Exactly." I reply, turning my body so that I'm completely facing him. "The woods are chaotic, uncontrolled, there are no straight lines in nature. All we have to do is throw a few ferns and roots in to remove the paths and it'll look just like home." Home. I catch myself on guard when I say that word, I haven't been home in over a year, hell I haven't been home in nineteen years but I didn't know I missed them until I was told.

"I'll get that sorted, sir. The rifle's loaded with rubber, so if you want to have a quick duel you can be my guest, sir." The corporal says with a small smile. I give him a quick thumbs up and allow him to charge off to speak to the fellow engineers. Miles chuckles slightly.

"You sure have a way with the underdogs." He says with a small smile. I chuckle along with him.

"I am one." I reply, mainly reassuring myself that I will always be an underdog. No matter how far I rise, I will always remember my roots. "Ready?"

"Ready." Miles replies, sliding a pair of protective glasses over his eyes in case I manage to shoot him in the face. I give Miles a minute to jog into the woods before I finally hear the siren sound. Game's on.

I slide behind a tree, keeping my rifle pointed vertically to avoid Miles spotting the barrel. I take a quick peek around the corner and spot him, pistol at the ready walking swiftly between the trees like a snake.

I drop to one knee and aim my rifle that tiny bit in front of him, differing the shot any hearing the rubber round hit him dead in the chest. It knocks Miles off his feet and he falls to the floor, but the Game isn't over yet. I dive from behind the tree and into a large fern that sits next to it.

Miles stands back up, noticing where the round had come from he makes his way in my direction. I remain perfectly still as he slowly makes his way towards me, the pistol scanning for it's target, me. He steps next to the tree I had just fired from, searching desperately for me. I slowly slide my sword from my back and leap from the ferns like a mountain lion, stopping my sword on his neck just as he begins to turn.

We both stand completely still. "The forest is my domain."

"I can see that." Miles replies, slowly pushing the sword away from his neck with two fingers. "You must have been a monster in that arena."

"Assassin was my title." i reply as I lower the sword to my side. Miles eyes the sword with a gleam in his eyes.

"Was that the sword?"

"Aye, that it was." I reply as I slide it back into it's holster. Suddenly a voice comes from the speakers above, and I recognised the voice instantly.

"Phoenix to the board." It repeated three times. I sigh as I slide the rifle over my back and begin walking away with no word to Miles, every time I get called to see the board it means I have a mission or some task to perform.

* * *

I walk into the board room, Coin sits on the far end of the table with all her officials surrounding the table. They all turn to face me with curious eyes, it's rare I've enter the room with my armour, and with my weapons on my back could be considered a crime in this District.

"You expecting a fight, Phoenix?"

"I thought it was serious, ma'am."

"Oh it is." Coin replies, as a hologram of the mockingjay, Katniss Everdeen, appears on the table in front of me. There she sits with the blonde boy, both contently talking on the beach. "You know who this is, Phoenix?"

"My replacement."

"At long last." Coin adds, looks like she's been waiting for another Victor like me for some time, but this Victor is in an arena, and as I watch her press her lips against the boys I know she doesn't intend on leaving that arena with her heart still beating. I see Coin nod through the hologram. "You've noticed?"

"She's not coming out of that arena alive, ma'am." I reply as I fold my arms and lean back on one leg. Coin raises an eyebrow to me, as if begging to share the information i have received from my first glance at this girl. "I know that look anywhere, I once wore it."

"Of course you did, which is why I have your first mission for you." Coin says with that dark smile of hers, which she seems to reserve just for me. She gives a glare to her officials, who all stand in unison and leave the room, leaving me alone with Coin. "You are to protect this girl."

"Protect her? I'm afraid you fail to understand what an assassin is, ma'am." It's very rare I refer to myself as an assassin, I always found the word was just a fancy way of saying murderer, but right now I need to sell myself as that if I'm to bring the fight to District 7.

"I understand it perfectly, but if you remember, you work for me."

"And we have a deal to save District 7, ma'am."

"We have, but we need this girl." Coin stands and moves around the table and towards me, I follow her with my eyes as she walks, attempting to make myself as intimidating as possible. "While she's here, you will be in District 7, but if, that's an if, if we send her to be deployed somewhere, you are to remain hidden and protect her from the shadows."

"That's why you needed an assassin. You don't want her to know I exist." I say with a small chuckle, I remember how easy it was to play people nineteen years ago, I should still be able to do it now. "Why?"

"In case you have to kill her." Coin replies with a small smile. I feel my heart drop as I glance back to the hologram of Katniss, awkwardly untangling herself from the blonde boy as the two of them are caught by the one wielding a trident.

"No."

"Yes!" Coin shouts back, slamming her fist onto the table in a fit of rage. "If she turns out to be a problem, you put her down, or I put Kate down."

"Don't you fucking dare mention her name." I say, bringing my hand onto my sword instinctively. I stop for a moment as my hands wraps around it's handle.

"Do you want to do this, Seth?" She taunts me. "Killing me would only get you and Kate killed."

"Working for you will get us killed too." I spit back. Coin laughs to herself as I lower my hand from my sword and she moves back around to her chair.

"I like you, Phoenix, but you are not our symbol anymore, she is." Coin points to the frozen picture of Katniss. I sigh for a moment, not because I've been replaced, but because this poor girl from District 12 has to go through all the pain I went thr... Wait... Katniss Everdeen? Everdeen!? It can't be!? I scan her more intently, the dark skin and dark hair, and all the rest of the features. It's Everdeen's child.

"So how are we getting her to District 13?" I ask in a determined tone. Even if Coin orders me to kill this girl I won't, I knew Everdeen for a day and I know he was a good man back then, who knows what he's like today?

"You won't be, you'll be using the next week to help train the soldiers ready for the invasion of District 7." Coin leans back in her chair and stares at me with focused eyes. "All the personnel will be informed to keep your existence a secret, but we have one other thing to discuss."

"What is that, ma'am?"

"Should the need arise, and we need you to do some real assassination work. How would you feel about leaving the battle for 7 and going on a little hunt? You'll return to the District as soon as the target is dead of course."

"Deal." I say without even thinking about it. As we found from my time in the Games, I had a talent for hunting people.

"Good, now get back down to the training centre, I believe some changes may have been made to the woods you criticised earlier." I give a respectful nod to Coin.

"Yes, ma'am."

* * *

But of course, I lied. Right now I didn't want to be telling some soldier why his version of District 7 was wrong, what I needed to do was clear my head.

Which is why I ended up where I normally do in these situations, sitting on a chair with a guitar in my hands next to Kate's bed. I had found this in the warehouse, along with a book on how to play, so I decided to learn to play. Kate loved music, and if she can hear the guitar maybe it soothes her frozen sleep.

I strum the guitar softly, changing chords quickly and efficiently. If Kate could hear me the first few time I played this she's be impressed with how I'd restrained from stabbing the instrument, it was immensely frustrating, but one night it seemed to click, and now I can dexterously change chords as if I was spinning a dagger between my fingers.

"Phoenix?" A voice called from the door as it slid open, I continued playing as I span myself on the chair to face the voice.

"What do you want, Miles?" i ask in a voice a bit too aggressive than what I intended, obviously I'm not fully calmed yet.

"They've started the rescue mission, it's official, we're at war."

"We're at war." I repeat as I put the guitar down and walk over to Kate's frozen body. I run my gauntlet covered hand along her cheeks, repeating the phrase. I then turn my attention to Miles, he's going to need my help training the men. I take a quick glance to the clock above Kate's bed, it's only three o'clock. "How many men?"

"Five hundred, all need to be trained." Miles replies, normally a sergeant wouldn't be given this responsibility, but I trust him more than anyone else in this whole District combined.

"Get them formed up and ready, we start training at zero seven hundred."


	3. Mockingjay

I stand with my arms folded and a crease on my brow hidden under my armoured mask, observing the poor girl that lies on the bed through the one way window in front of me. Katniss Everdeen. I never would have thought that you would be the product of the marriage I helped make.

I had found out some of the poor girls history from when the District 12 refugees began flooding into 13. How her father had died in a mining accident, something that struck a chord inside of me, that she had a younger sister, and that Mrs. Everdeen was still alive and somewhere in this District.

All of 12 has been informed that they are not to tell Katniss about certain people within the District, we made a long list of others so that they don't become suspicious of why one lone assassin must be kept hidden from her.

"Did you know her?"

"No, Gale, no I didn't." I reply as I turn my attention to the boy standing next to me with his hands behind his back. Gale. I admired the man for his fire I must admit, he was ready to fight the Capitol, signed up for the military and everything, but I couldn't help but feel something was... Off... About him.

"Then why are you here?" He asks. It's an innocent question, and I can tell he doesn't like me watching her. I can only assume he loves her, and I know I would have the same feeling if he watched Kate in her frozen sleep.

"I knew her father." I reply honestly, hoping it will settle his nerves, but judging by how quickly his head snaps to face me all it's done is provide more confusion. Before he has chance to press further I change the subject. "I'm sorry for what happened to 12."

"What would you know about losing your home, you're in it." Gale spits back, as much as I both admire and dislike this boy, I can understand his anger right now. I let out a long drawn sigh and turn my attention back to young Everdeen, lying helplessly on her bed.

"No I'm not." I reply with a heavy heart, and I can tell from the corner of my eye that this has caught Gale of guard. "You're not the only refugee here."

"Where are you from then?" He asks with a small frown, an innocent enough question being as though I've just confused the shit out of him.

"District 7." I reply quickly and coldly, hoping that he doesn't pry me for more answers.

"In a suit like that? I don't think so..." He trails off for a moment as all the clogs slowly begin to click in his head. He turns to me whilst taking a step back, scanning me from head to toe with a fierce expression. I can tell from those eyes, those hunter eyes, that he's observing me as if I am prey, taking in every detail of my very being. "Victor?"

"Sadly." I reply. Clever guy, able to work out what I am just by looking at me, I think I should recruit him. "As is she."

"What Games did you win?" Gale asks inquisitively. My head snaps to the right as I stare at his features, my sudden change must have surprised him. "If you don't mind me asking..."

"The fifty-fifth Hunger Games." His jaw nearly drops off at the comment.

"Then you must be around forty."

"I was born thirty seven years ago, I had lived for nineteen of them, so you can consider me nineteen; both mentally and physically."

"Physically? Yes, I can see that, but mentally is a bit-" He stops himself short when he notices how I'm reacting. Speaking of my mental failures weighs heavy on my heart and as his words sink in I can't help but feel those new titles to resurface, sociopath, unstable. None that I want to wear, just like many of my other titles. "You're suffering, just like her."

"You have no idea how similar we are." I comment as I stare down at the poor girl. The symbol of rebellion. She was the spark I could never be, and I don't feel bad because she took the title of leader from me, I feel evil because I know my failures have cost this girl her normal life.

"What aren't you telling me?"

"We've known each other for two days, Gale." I snap at him as I straighten my back and stare into his grey eyes. "Don't push it."

"Okay." He answers quickly, turning his attention back to Katniss. "She's beautiful, isn't she?"

"She is." I admit with a small chuckle. Gale gives me a quick glance and I know what he is thinking. "Don't worry, I'm not after her."

"Have a girl already, ai?"

"You can say that."

"Can?" Gale asks with a small frown. I sigh a long drawn sigh, Doc said I can't keep things cooped up forever, and I made a promise to Kate nineteen years ago, I will try to mend myself.

"Kate... She's in coma."

"I'm sorry, for what it's worth." Gale replies as he glances back to Katniss. He knows the pain I'm suffering. "How long?"

"Nineteen years, but I was in coma for eighteen of them as well." Gale now turned his full attention back to me with a pitiful look. "You're not the first to lose your home, or the girl you love, and I am sorry for both, Gale."

"No, no... I'm sorry, Phoenix, I didn't know." He replies as he too lets out a long drawn sigh. We both turn out attention back to Katniss. I hope you wake up soon Baby Everdeen.

* * *

"Move your feet quicker." I command to the private as he swings the sword at me from the waist. I side step the blade and jab forward with my blade, he spins around, bringing his elbow down on my sword arm so I stumble to the floor. He then brings his sword into the air, but I take my advantage and thrust from the ground, stopping as my blade pressing into his uniform. The private stops dead in his tracks, then lets out a annoyed sigh. "Impressive."

"Thank you, sir." He replies, extending a hand to help me up. I accept gratefully and send him back into line to stand with the other forty nine recruits. We've split the training into a ten hour a day programme with fifty people in each training facility at one time. It's hard work on everyone, but they know that this is going to be a fight they have never prepared for.

"Private Clay made an impressive display of his swordsmanship. Never discount the sword, all of you will be given one, and in the close quarters of the forest is can be used for many different actions." I explain as the fifty soldiers all stand watching me. Some trainers like to keep them standing at attention, but I keep my training sessions casual not to piss them off.

"Like what, sir?" A young lance-corporal asks with his hand raised into the air. I point my blade towards him.

"Good question. Swords aren't just weapons, they are tools. If you need to kill a man, you have a sword. If you need to cut through the foliage, you have a sword. If you need cut wire fences, you have a sword. Just be careful of any electrical current that may run through them." I needed to add that last bit to avoid our whole force being destroyed by a single electrical fence. "Now grab your sparring partner, you have ten minutes sparring!"

"Yes, sir!" They all answer in unison as they spread around the training hall, all the soldiers drawing their plastic blades and begin beating the shit into each other.

"Oi, Phoenix!" I hear from behind me, I spin on the balls of my feet and find Miles jogging over to me. "How's it going?"

"They're learning, but I don't know if we'll be able to beat the Capitol in the forest." I admit with a hollow heart. How many of these men are going to die on my soil?

"We'll be fine, as far as I'm aware we have the air force on our side, District 7 is very close to the Capitol after all."

"They want us to take District 7, so we can funnel troops into the Capitol?" i ask with a raised eyebrow, which is hidden under my armour. Miles nods along.

"Yeah, but I've got orders in, they want you, me, and four other guys to deploy a day early." Miles informs me with a worried looks on his face. I've heard of this tactic before, sending in a group of pathfinders to scan the area's that we'll be doing most of our fighting. "And to deal with a few anti-air guns."

"We should be able to pull that off easily." I add with a slight hint of confidence, I doubt the peacekeepers will expect us to send in such a small team to deal with such big targets, but I know what damage a single man can do. "When do we leave?"

"Two weeks, we'll be two days out in the field before the others turn up, you okay with that?"

"Perfectly fine, I miss my trees." I reply with a small chuckle. Miles gives me a sad smile before walking back down the massive room we are in and through the door. I wear that same sad smile as he walks through the door and out of the massive room I've turned into my sparring centre.

"Phoenix!" I hear called, as two privates stop sparring and call me over. Being the good officer I try to be, i stride over to them at their first calling.

"Everything okay?" I ask as I shoot looks between the two privates, both of them are actually older than me, but I've seen and done far more.

"Everything is fine, sir, but what do we do if we become disarmed?" He asks with a guilty look. I went through this topic yesterday.

"Were you listening yesterday?" I ask, slightly frustrated that I have to go through a lesson he spent an hour learning yesterday.

"i was away, sorry si-"

"In that case, it's fine, soldier." Soldiers in this District only miss sessions if they have bloody good reasons, and I'm not going to pry for information. I draw my sword and stand opposite his sparring partner. "Watch me carefully, I can only go through this once."

* * *

It's the end of the day, and I'm back where I am nearly every evening, running my armoured hand along Kate's skin as she sleeps.

"They're sending me away, darling." I mutter as I try to hold back the tears forming in my eyes. "I'm going to get our home back."

"I don't know how long I'll be, or if I'll be coming back, but here..." I take off the golden necklace around my neck and slides it around hers, gently placing her head back against the pillow when I'm done. "If I don't make it back, I know you'd kill me for saying this but, let's just say I don't. I want you do me one favour, remember me, that's all my darling, just remember me, and know that you are the most important thing in my life."

I throw my armoured mask off and collapse into the chair next to her bed, trying my best to stop the steady flow of tears sliding down my face.

"I'll fight for you, and I'll get us home, I'll keep the Mockingjay alive, I'll keep the rebellion alive, I'll keep you alive, and then we can go home." I finally wipe the last tear away and stand back up, planting a soft kiss on my love's lips. "I'll be home soon, my darling."

* * *

I stand before the aircraft that will parachute us into the District under the cover of darkness, and i have to admit I'm not looking forward to going up in the air again, last time ended with me missing eighteen years.

"I've got the four guys coming with us." Miles informs me, pointing to the four men standing in a perfect line just behind him. I walk to the first, a short man with ginger hair, clean shaved, and pale skin.

"Name,rank and speciality?" I ask as I walk past in my armour.

"Corporal O'Brian," he replies with a small smile, "and I'm a damn good cook."

"We're bringing a chef as a pathfinder?"

"No you just asked what I'm good at, sir." He replies with a cheeky smile, I chuckle along, glad to see I have someone with a sense of humour. I move to the next man, an older man, early thirties, bald and with pale skin with lots of wrinkles, he hasn't aged well.

"Same to you."

"Corporal Heath, marksman." He replies with a gruff voice, much like my old voice when I once recently burned. I then move to the next man, short, with dark hair and dark skin.

"Corporal Bryant, marksman." It seems to be they've given me all experienced or talented soldiers. Good, I need them. I then move to the last man, he looks about eighteen, same height as me with dark brown hair and eyes to match with pale skin.

"Corporal Pope, marksman."

"Let's get things straight here, men." I say as I walk in front of the four of them. "Fuck the formalities, if we're going to be bleeding together I don't want to have to shout your rank, understood?"

"Yes, sir." They all reply in unison, maybe there's parts of a soldier that you'll never be able to get out of a man.

"I will be called away over the course of this campaign, in my absence my second in command, Sergeant Miles, will take over command of the team." I then turn to Miles, giving him my first direct order. "Miles, you choose who your two I.C will be, I won't argue with your decision."

"Yes, sir." Miles replies, scanning the small team with focused eyes.

"Now listen in, we're being dropped in a few miles east of the Justice Building, which is close to where the guns are being held."

"Do we have any ideas of enemy persons, sir?" Heath asks his hand quickly extending into the air, then shooting straight back down.

"No idea. All I know is that we'll destroy the guns, the troops will parachute in, then we annex the town, any other questions?"

"Do we have a proper plan, sir? Or is this a... Make it up as we go along style job?" O'Brian asks with a small frown, judging by the nods the rest of the team were thinking this as well.

"Make it up as we go along by the looks of it." I say with a small chuckle, luckily the rest of the team see the humour and laugh along with me. "Grab your gear. Miles, get the men in the back and get ready to move. We hit the District tonight."


	4. Pathfinder

_I stand in front of the Mockingjay. She wears my arena clothes with a bow in her hands, firing arrows at the barrage of peacekeepers charging at her from below the hill that she stands on. There I stand behind here, hidden beneath the shadow of a a tree with my rifle rested in my hands. I take in a deep breath and fall to my kneeling shooting stance, steadying the rifle on the back of the girls skull._

_"Would you do it?" A voice asks from behind me, and I know exactly who it is. I lower my rifle but don't turn to face the voice._

_"I don't think I could." I reply honestly as i watch her fire the flaming arrows into the peacekeepers below, each arrow that ignites sends a shiver down my spine, I will never defeat my fear of fire. "Your daughter doesn't deserve this."_

_"No one deserves this." Everdeen adds as he walks to my side, offering his hand to me, but I refuse to take it as I rise to my feet. "Won't accept my help?"_

_"Not if I may have to kill your daughter."I reply with a heavy heart. Everdeen sighs as we both turn his attention back to his daughter, bringing down the Capitol an arrow at a time. "I wish I could have taken her place."_

_"What happened wasn't your fault."_

_"Many things aren't my fault, I still feel guilt for them happening." I admit to the dead man next to me, it's strange how human I've become since the war has started. For my year in District 13 I was ready for it, now I've left Kate behind, i can't help but feel that I shouldn't be going to war._

_"We all do, Phoenix." He replies with a small humph sound. "My other daughter and my wife are still in 13, when you get back, you could visit them."_

_"I doubt she'd remember me."_

_"You solidified our engagement, trust me, she'll remember you."He replies with a small smile. "It'll be good for you, you have promises to keep after all."_

_"To Kate?"_

_"And us." I hear from my other side. I quickly snap my head to the left to find Hasta and Claire standing there, each smiling ever so sweetly at me. "Make them pay for it, remember?"_

_"It became a motto in District 7." I reply to Hasta's comment with a small chuckle. "To liberate the Districts."_

_"We all know that's not why you started to fight this war." Claire retorts with a small smile. I look back to her as the feeling of guilt set in. If only you had survived, then everything would be so different. "You did this for us."_

_"I did for you." I reply with a croaky voice. "I did it to remember you."_

_"I know you did." Claire walks over to me, pulls my mask from my face and wraps her arms around my shoulders as I bury my face into her neck._

_"I'm so sorry, Claire, I'm so, so, so sorry I couldn't save you. I tried I really tried."She pushes me away so that she's holding me at arms length. I watch around her as figures of people I lost form behind her. My family, my friends, all alive and well and watching me with sad smiles over their faces._

_"Avenge us, Seth." They all say in unison as Claire takes a step back from me. I try to chase after them, but my feet are rooted to the ground._

_"Wait, don't go." I beg as I extend a hand towards Claire as she walks backwards, the figures turn to fog, leaving Claire walk gracefully back into it._

_"Welcome home, Seth." _

* * *

"No!" I whimper as I jolt from my sleep.

"Ai, the boss it awake!" O'Brian cheers as I struggle to regain my composure in front of the men. We're all seated in the back of a hovercraft, the lights are all dull and dark red to help our eyes adjust to the night we'll be deploying into.

"You okay?" Miles asks as he gives me a quick nudge on my arm, seems he sat next to me through the entire flight.

"Bad dreams." I reply as I lean forward and press my finger against the bridge of my nose. I take a glance up and find all the men staring at me.

"You okay, boss?" O'Brian asks as he happily sits with his combat gear on, observing me as he rests his feet against the massive plastic box the sits between us all.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." I reply as I take a deep breath in and exhale slowly. Suddenly the hovercraft stops and the large door at the back begins to open. I stand from my chair and look down at the District below me, it must be thousands of feet away. "How high are we?"

"Thirty thousand feet, sir." Bryant answers as he too stands from his seat. I quickly check the parachute on my back and turn to the men, giving the signal to push the box from the hovercraft. With a large groan they all push and watch as the box flies from the back of the aircraft and starts it's decent into the night.

"Miles, get the men moving." I order. Miles gives me a quick nod and motions for the men to follow his lead. Together they all jump from the aircraft and begin their decent into the night. I follow up from the rear as I leap out of the back.

I fall for a few seconds before I spin onto my back and watch as the hovercraft turns around and zips away into the night sky. I then take another second to admire the stars as I fall, the beautiful District 7 sky glowing as I descend.

"Pull shoots!" I hear Miles' voice order of the radio. I do as told, spinning onto my back and pulling the red chord. Suddenly the world slows and I feel a massive tug on my shoulders, nearly knocking the wind out of me as we descend from the sky.

I hold onto the chords of the parachute, directing it to the clearing, hoping to god that I land safely.

It takes what seems like an eternity before I finally hit the ground, unclicking the parachute as I roll so the bag slides of my back. I quickly spin and gran the parachute, pulling the other chord which sends most of the excess chord zooming back into the bag. The parachute may not be reusable, unless packed by a machine, but at least there is far less mess to deal with when hiding the parachutes.

I turn to find the men have all finished with their parachutes, and O'Brian is throwing everyone's gear that was kept in the large plastic box to them.

"Um... Sergeant Miles." He reads before tossing the large ruck sack towards Miles, who catches it with a groan.

"Um... Ah! Boss!" He throws the large bag to me, which I catch and slide onto my back quickly and efficiently, buckling up with extreme speed. At this point my rifle is over my shoulder, and I'm using the bag to pin my sword and tomahawk sheathes to me.

"And the last one should be... Ah! Mine!" He exclaims happily. Without word we all throw out parachutes to him and he stuffs them into the large box, tightly securing the lid when he's done. "Which way, boss?"

"Give him a second, he's home." Heath replies with a small frown to O'Brian.

"Yeah, this must be pretty taxing on the Phoenix." Pope adds, young man backing me up like he is, but they are right, I can't help but feel quite emotional. I slide my gauntlets off and, with shaking hands, plunge my hands into the dirt beneath me, feeling the moss and roots wrap themselves around my fingers feels truly amazing. "What is he doing?"

"Feeling what it's like to be home." Heath adds with a small chuckle. I finally pulls my hands from the dry soil and slide my gauntlets back on. Taking a deep breath in and scanning the District. "Where are we, sir?"

"We should be five miles east of the Justice Building." I take a step back and scan the sky, looking for any sign of light coming from anywhere. Finally I spot the small ripple in the sky, there's spotlights beneath that area. "Found it, form up on me."

"You heard him." Miles chips in as the five men form a circle around me. "What's happening, sir."

"We'll keep this as quiet as possible, follow me through the forest exactly." I instruct as they all nod along with my orders. "When we reach the town, make sure you have silencers attached to your assault rifles. If we do this right though, we won't need to use them."

"Why not pick off a few peacekeepers now?" Pope asks as he adjusts himself so he can inspect his rifle. "Save us the trouble later on."

"As soon as we go loud we're done for." Heath adds, ever the voice of wisdom that he is.

"Yeah, but it would be a hell of a way to go!" O'Brian adds with a small chuckle. "Incinerated by a massive cannon."

"I'd prefer to suffocate to death from being pleasured by too many women." Bryant adds, causing a mixture of laughs and sounds of humorous disgust throughout the team.

"Back with it." I say, and they all fall silent instantly and turn their attention back to me. "Miles, have you got the devices?"

"I have three, just in case, but we should only need one to take out the mainframe that hooks up all the guns." He replies confidently. Good, I need the men to feel that confidence as well.

"Couldn't they fix it?" Pope asks with a small frown of concern.

"Naa, it would take them at least a week to get it sported after we EMP the shit out of it." O'Brian adds, seems like he knows something about demolitions.

"If there's no more questions?" I ask with a small frown from under my mask. The man all shake their heads slowly back and forth. "Right, let's get moving."

* * *

We walk quickly and quietly through the woods. Or at least I walked quickly and silent, these heavy footed 13 boys couldn't be silent even if they stood still. With each step I either hear a snap or a creak.

"We're not far good at this stealthy stuff." Pope says as he trips and falls half in a ditch. "How could you live here?"

"You get used to it." i reply over the radio. We all agreed to use the radios to avoid shouting to each other through the forest. Honestly, I don't mind that the men find the forest slightly daunting, in fact I'm surprised that they aren't petrified of such an alien environment. "Keep your eyes peeled, we're only a mile away from the Justice Building."

"How do you know?" Miles asks in confusion, I suppose all the team are thinking the same thing. I jump up onto the fallen tree that crosses the ditch, this was here twenty years ago, and it's still just as strong.

"There's a beauty in the chaos of nature, you never forget it once you've embraced it." I speak mainly to myself, my words being far more philosophical that I had originally intended, but who knows, it may be a famous quote one day. I suppose when people watch the video and listen to the recording of the battle (the cameras being attached to Miles and Heath) they may use it for something.

"That's going in the history book." O'Brian adds which lets out a small chuckle from the team, who all follow my lead by walking across the fallen tree. I do a quick check behind me, I don't want to leave any of my men behind after all.

"Only if we win." Heath adds as he comes to stand next to me. I look over to him, an older man still able to keep up with those far younger than him, would I have been able to pull that off it I wasn't frozen?

"Where to now, sir?" Pope asks with eyes full of enthusiasm. I'm glad I have such a good team fighting alongside me during this fragile stage of the war.

"Keep on my tail, we'll be at the Justice Building soon."

* * *

We arrived quicker than I thought. It's two o'clock in the morning by the time we reach the Justice Building. It hasn't changed a bit over the years, but as I stare at the small stage out the front, the stage where I executed Callum all those years ago. I zone out for a moment, as images of the flaming sword cutting through his neck fill my mind. He may have been dead for nineteen years, but for me it has been just over a year.

"Sir?" Pope asks through the radio. I suddenly snap back to reality. "You okay, sir?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." I lie as I shake my head clear. The four guns have been set up in the four corners of the town, but the targeting system they run off has been placed inside the Justice Building to protect them from any explosive damage, which means we have to get into the Justice Building. I radio into command. "Phoenix to District 13, we're at the target, shall we proceed with operation? Over."

"District 13 to Phoenix, that is a negative, the boots aren't ready to be deployed. Get us a few pictures sent and find an LZ, you'll disable the guns at twenty-three hundred tomorrow. Command out." The voice cuts out through the radio and I sigh in frustration. We have just under twenty four hours of doing nothing.

"Miles, get us a few pictures of the town and then we'll get out of here."

"Working on it." Miles replies as he removes the small camera from his shoulder and begins taking pictures. Why he takes stills when the camera is on a constant record I'll never know, but when he's done we all fall back into the wood, back to the ditch where we'll spend our night.


	5. Deep In The Meadow

I watch as the morning sun rises over the trees. Right now I'm the only person awake. It seems that no people have come into these woods for years, so I let the men get some sleep while I kept a watchful eye open. The sunlight breaks through the treeline, waking all of the men from their heavy sleep.

"Morning." O'Brian starts as the men struggle to remove themselves from their sleeping bags. I chuckled quietly as they peel the layers of mud and moss of their faces. "Seriously, boss, how did you enjoy this?"

"I slept up trees." I admit with a small chuckle, as I was rewarded with a very pissed off look from O'Brian, only making me laugh that tiny bit more.

"He's got a point, District 7 is fucking hell." Miles adds as he slowly rolls back onto his back and stares aimlessly into the sky. "There's not a single piece of metal for miles."

"Exactly." I reply with a smile growing across my face as I watch the birds dart through the trees, reminding me of when me and Callum sat on my doorstep and watched the bird dance through the Victor's Village.

"You District 7 people must be a strange bunch." Bryant adds as he pulls his small gas cooker from his rucksack. It's only a tiny thing, and it can only just heat the shitty meals that we're given to eat in the field, how i wish I could have a nice chunk of venison right now. "I ain't seen a single bunker since we got here."

"You're the only District that live like moles." I reply with a small shake of my head. When I thought of bringing the fight back to District 7, I didn't think it would be with people who had no clue about nature.

"Better than having to deal with all this..." Bryant shoots back. Pope laughs to himself, then suddenly stops when the other five of us turn to see what he finds so funny.

"I kind of like it here." He admits as the cooling breeze flows through ditch that we have all called our home for the evening, but I'd call it home even if I wasn't involved in this war. "It's very peaceful."

"Won't be for much longer." Heath adds in his gruff voice, looks like he's not a morning person at all.

"Only if we pull this off." Miles adds as he withdraws a small oat bar from his bag and begins eating. "And I for one hope we get chance to stick a few of these Capitol fuckers in the ground!"

"Here here." The other four soldiers chirp in as they all carry on eating or begin eating. I let out a long drawn sigh and stand.

"All of you stay here, I'll be back in a few hours."

"Few hours? Where are you going?" Miles asks with a concerned expression covering his face. I let my gaze drop and begin walking in the direction I know my feet will take me, in the direction they have to take me.

* * *

I wander slowly through a very familiar part of the woods, following a trail left by someone who's been using it frequently. This part of the District, my part of the District, where my willow tree grows over the river. Where I had opened to Mrs. Snow, where I had spent time with Claire, Kate, and Callum. Where I spent precious time with my Father... I doubt anyone would remember my family now, or me for that matter. I've been dead for nineteen years after all.

I walk silently as I approach the clearing, then I notice something I would never have expected. An old man kneels at the willow tree, that's much larger than what I remembered, muttering to himself with his hands joined in front of him.

I circle quickly and quietly as I try to get a look at the old-man's face. Then feel the air leave my lungs when I recognise that small bit of facial hair. I admit, he's lost weight. My surprise makes me lose track, and I snap a twig on the floor, causing him to jump to his feet and snap out of his trance.

"Who's there!?" The old-man shouts as he tries to hold himself steady with his walking stick. "This is a place of peace, show yourself!"

"Good morning, Butcher." I say as I walk through the tree line and stride slowly towards him. The Butcher stares at me in disbelief, hands and knees shaking as I slowly approach him.

"You... You... Your dead?" He questions as he makes his way towards me. I stop under the willow as he places a hand on my shoulder and tears build in his eyes. "You died, you were blown from the sky, you died."

"I thought you knew me better." I reply as I slide my mask off from my head and hold it to my side. The tears slide down the Butcher's face as he wraps his arms around me and cries into my armour.

"Bless you, my child, bless you." He whimpers as he pulls himself away, smiling as the tears roll down his face. "You haven't aged a day..."

"I was kept in coma for eighteen years, a certain party kept me young while I slept." I say with a small smile.

"Kate?"

"She's alive." I reply as I keep my small smile on my face. The Butcher covers his mouth with his hand as he struggles to stand.

"Who would have thought it, the Phoenix survived!" He laughs loudly and motions me over to the tree. All the names I carved in all those years ago still stand, but now, a Phoenix has been carved into the tree, and stones have been placed under it like some sort of shrine. Each stone has a small candle rested upon it.

"Did you do this?" I ask as I step between the stones. The Butcher begins to kneel and motions for me to do the same, I gladly follow his example as I rest upon my knees.

"We all did, everyone who lived through it." The Butcher replies as he rests his walking stick across his kneel, staring up the trunk of the willow as the sunlight breaks through the branches. "Blight had told us all about the uprising, we kept our knowledge of the event secret from the peacekeepers."

"They would have killed you if they realised you knew."

"You were treated as secret hero after that, we kept the uprising secret from the children, we didn't want a repeat of your actions." He says with a sad smile as he turns his head to face me. "The uprising effected the whole District."

"How so?" I ask in confusion. I honestly would have thought that, since I was considered dead, that everything would have returned to normal.

"Our weapons were taken off us, peacekeepers were armed with firearms, and their number tripled." He explains with a sad expression covering his face. "Commander Thread was transferred to the Capitol, then District 12, but now..."

"He's here?" I question in surprise. I'd heard the bombing of District 12 killed nearly everyone in it. Then again, Thread always was a tough bastard. The Butcher nods slowly, looks like I have a score to settle.

"I know that look, son, don't go doing anything stupid." He warns me with a serious expression. "Why are you here? Is it to do with the uprising's in the other Districts?"

"I'm here to provide the spark." I reply with a small smile. The Butcher allows the words to sink in for a moment, before he finally bursts into laughter.

"Oh, boyo, you just don't give up do you?" He asks with a large smile covering his face.

"I never have." I reply as the warm air flows down the river and through the branches of the willow. "What else has changed?"

"The weather mainly." He replies with a small chuckle. "It became a lot warmer these past few years, the frozen wastes have become smaller and most of the predators have died out."

"Most of them?" I ask with a small frown.

"We only see the wolves, bears and eagles now. Normal bears, not the ones that walk on two legs." He adds quickly to sooth my nerves by the look of it. "We don't have the deer migrating anymore, the fences were all improved, meaning nothing gets in or out."

"What about the tunnels?" If the tunnels are clear I should be able to use them to move around the District without the peacekeepers finding us.

"Most of them are empty, except the northern tunnel."

"Still full of bats?" I ask with the hope that there's at least something that hasn't changed since I've been away.

"No, boyo, they blew it up."

"That's depressing."

"Not as depressing as the death of Blight, or that Johanna has gone missing."

"What has her father said?"

"He's dead." An instant silence flows through the forest as it seems that time stands still. I sigh as the images of Mason fill my mind, like when he and William protected me from the bats all those years ago. "Johanna's family were killed."

"The Capitol?" I ask, he nods along as I feel the rage build inside of me, if only I hadn't of been in coma, I could have saved them. I could have saved them all! Everdeen, Mason, all of them! I slam my fist into the floor and pull my mask over my head.

"Where are you going boyo?" The Butcher asks with a croaky voice.

"Go home, Butcher, and stay in your home for the next few days, I'm going to paint the streets red."

* * *

I wander the forest for most of the day, in fact all of it, eating berries and drinking from the streams that flow through the District. Right now I need the tranquillity of my home, but I know that as the moon begins to rise I have a job to do.

I retrace my steps and end up back with my team.

"Where the hell have you been?" Miles asks as he makes his way over to me, the other four men standing behind him. "We've got two hours to knock out the guns!"

"That's incorrect, Sergeant, you have two hours till you begin your mission." I hear from over the radio. All my men shoot me confused looks and start tapping their ear pieces. "Apologise, I'm your adviser, I'll provide you with Intel."

"I thought we were gathering the Intel, adviser?"

"We have radio analysts working round the clock to help your team out. Knock out the guns men, and we have a job for you, Phoenix." My first contract I'm assuming. "President Coin has asked for you to assassinate the capitol official visiting the District."

"Will I be with the men when they blow the guns?" I ask Adviser with a small crease forming across my brow.

"You are to help clear out the town, then go to the Victor Village and assassinate him whilst he sleeps in his bed." I feel my muscles tense when they mention the Victor's Village, I'll be attacking my own home, somewhere I intend on returning to.

"Which house is he in?"

"Third on the left." The Adviser replies. "Meet back up with the squad afterwards, and we'll airlift you out of the District."

"Why am I being airlifted out, Adviser?"

"The Mockingjay is awake, and she wants to visit District 12, you know your job."

"Yes, Adviser. Phoenix out." I cut off the radio and curse as I turn back to my men.

"Guarding the Mockingjay, ai, boss?" O'Brian asks with a cheeky smile. "How much they paying you for that?"

"Not enough I'm assuming." Heath adds as he does a quick check to make sure his silencer is firmly onto his rifle. "Right, sir?"

"Right." I agree as I drop my bag to the floor. "Leave whatever gear you don't need here, we'll Be move quickly and quietly, I want not civilian casualties and as many silent kills as possible, understood?"

"Yes, sir." They all reply in unison as they drop their bags to the floor and begin searching through their bags to see what they'll need. Miles quickly pulls me to the side and turns both our radios off.

"You sure about this? I know how hard this going to hit you." Miles asks with a small frown, I place a reassuring hand upon his shoulder.

"I survived the arena, I'll survive this." I reply, hopefully trying to put some confidence into him. he gives me a small smiles as I allow my hand to drop and slide back up to my rifle, bring it from my back and into my hands. "I'll keep watch, we move in two hours!"


	6. Contract

It's twelve o'clock by the time we reach the town, all my men hidden in the treeline as we watch the peacekeepers patrol the Justice Building. There must be about fourteen of them, some in the watchtowers manning the flood lights, some on the ground, and some standing guard outside of the Justice Building.

"How are we going to do this, Boss?" O'Brian asked with a worried expression. This was my speciality, stealth and assassination, I decide to put my men's lives before mine.

"Miles, get them all into a position that provides a good line of fire and cover." I order as I slowly draw my sword and tomahawk, this is shortly followed with a mixture of shocked and confused looks from the men. "Don't shoot unless I get spotted."

"Get spotted?" Miles asks with a raised eyebrow, but it was too late, I was already darting towards the side of the Justice Building with my sword and tomahawk at the ready.

I tuck behind one of the large stone pillars on the corner of the Justice Building, waiting for my enemies to walk past. Sure enough they did, and as they helplessly stroll past me I Dive behind and decapitate them both, catching their bodies and heads as they fall.

"Shit, Boss!" I hear over the radio as I lower the bodies onto the ground and bring my weapons back up to their ready positions. I quickly glance to the houses by the side of the Justice Building and under one of the watch towers, I then notice the men getting into their positions and readying their rifles.

"Eyes on, Boss, Pope's climbing the ladder with his knife now." i watch nervously as Pope scales the ladder, silently climbing into the sniper's nest and stabbing the peacekeeper using the flood light.

"All's good from up here, sir." Pope radio's in.

"Silencer on, Pope?" I ask.

"Yes, sir."

"Then shoot the peacekeeper on the other tower." I order. Pope didn't need to answer that order, I knew he'd perform my order to the letter, and when I heard that faint pfft sound, that you could only hear if you were waiting for it, I know he's done his job.

I peak my head around the corner, there are two peacekeepers patrolling the other side of the Justice Building, whilst the other have gone further into town, leaving the two guards at the door. I order in for their execution, and within seconds both of them fall to the floor with holes in their visors. I quickly run over to the two bodies and drag them off the Justice Building and back to the pile where I have hidden the other two bodies.

"Bryant, into the other tower, put the two peacekeepers down while you are at it." I order, I watch as he sprint across the opening, dives around the corner and fires two shots. He then proceeds to climb the tower and i can only assume he's hit both his enemies, I can see why Coin gave me marksman and not average soldiers. "Rest of you on me."

"What now, sir?" Heath asks as he, Miles, and O'Brian.

"O'Brian, fuck up the guns." He gives me a quick nod and scurries away into the Justice building to find his target. "Miles, Heath, keep an eye open for peacekeepers."

"You off on a hunt?" Miles asks with a small smile. I give a quick nod, switch from my sword and tomahawk to my rifle, and then jog off into the night.

* * *

I keep to the shadows and the treeline, trying my best to remain hidden as I approach the Victor's Village.

"Still all clear." Miles informs me over the radio, I asked him to give me regular updates as we progressed throughout the night. "How's it going with you?"

"I'm coming up on the Victor's Village, going radio silent." I informs him as I dive through the trees and bound over the fence. It's good to see I haven't lost my acrobatic skills after all these years. I land on the other side with a quick roll and a dive to my stomach, keeping as low to the ground as possible. Two peacekeepers stand in front of the house where the official is staying, and I know what must be done.

I fire two rounds with great speed at the peacekeepers, killing them both before they know what hit them. I jog over to the house, desperately trying to not to look towards either my old house or Blight's.

I gently creep up the staircase leading to the house, resting each foot against the surface without trying to cause too much disturbance. Shouldn't there be way more peacekeepers here? There is a war going on after all.

I slowly open the door, poking my head around the corner of the house to find that no one's here, except for the faint sound of snoring coming from upstairs. I take a quick peek into the dining area. The table is completely full of documents. I take it upon myself to read through as many as I can.

Most of it's none-sense, but I notice a few important pieces of information. One being that most of the peacekeeper force has been moved closer to the Capitol, as a precaution, this includes the great Commander Thread. Oh how they'll come running back when they find out that District 13 has boots on the ground.

I then slowly sneak up the stairs and into the room where the snoring is coming from. I slowly open the door and notice an extremely fat man lying in the bed, snoring loudly with a cigar hanging over the edge of the bed.

"Phoenix to Adviser."

"This is Adviser, come in Phoenix."

"How do you want this done?"

"Quickly and cleanly. Adviser, out."

I walk into the room with my sword drawn. The official still snores loudly as his chest rise and falls in a hypnotising rhythm. I let out a long drawn sigh as I wrap both hands around the handle. Holding the sword pointed vertically down over the official's chest. I take in a deep breath as I bring the sword over my head, what's making this kill so difficult? That's when it hits me, this isn't a fight.

Over the past two years I've changed drastically, I've become accustomed to killing people for the sake of war, but this isn't a battle, this is a murder. This man isn't a soldier, he didn't sign up to be murdered in a bed. He's a civilian, but I know what must be done.

I plunge my sword into the man's heart. His eyes flick open for a moment as a squirt of blood escapes his lips and splatters his face. I stare at his face, unable to look away at the atrocity I had just committed, how much easier this war would be if I was old Seth. Old Seth would have killed this man without a second thought, but this new Seth is far more moral, and such, he is far more weak.

I twist and draw the blade from his chest, walking down the stairs with the blade still in my hand.

"Phoenix to Adviser, I have some documents here." I wait for a second as I listen to the sound of the Adviser muttering with someone over the radio.

"Roger that, Phoenix. Gather the documents and hide them in the basement, we'll collect them at another point." He orders as I slide the sword into it's sheath, listening as the blood slides off the sword and pours over the sides of the sheath. I collect as many documents in my arms as possible, walking over to the basement and kicking the door open. I walk down into the empty basement, dumping the papers on the floor and walking back into the main section of the house, closing the door behind me.

"Adviser, why was the official here?" I ask in a slight bit of confusion. I had never heard of any members of the Capitol coming out to the Districts unless the Hunger Games were being held or about to be held.

"To convince the people of District 7 to side with the Capitol."

"Side with the Capitol?" I ask in even more confusion, the people of 7 hated that Capitol with all their hearts. "Why would they side with the Capitol?"

"District 7 was doing pretty well after your uprising, people knuckled down and the production of the District nearly doubled, meaning their lives were harder working, but they had much more food." The Adviser explains to me as I sneak back out of the house and hide the peacekeeper bodies in the bushes to the side of the house.

"So why send so many people to claim it if they don't need liberating?" i ask in even more confusion. This could just be a mind step problem, but I was used to District 7 struggling to survive.

"District 7 is on the Capitol's door step, it is the largest District, and has massive potential for production and food." He informs me as I stride down the path and duck into the woods to the side of the fence. "Securing District 7 will be a great asset to the war effort."

"I doubt it will be that easy."

"We can only try. Adviser, out." His sudden stop of our conversations is starting to piss me off more and more. Suddenly the radio light s up and I hear the sounds of gunshots in the distance.

"Sir! We've been found, peacekeepers are starting to swarm this fucking place!" Bryant's voice comes in from over the radio, well this is, no point in remaining silent.

"On my way." I radio back as I break into a sprint through the woods. It's lucky that I haven't lost my talent at running through the forest, it does prove challenging to find your footing when you're not used to it.

* * *

It doesn't take me long to reach the town. I sneak around the side of the town, trying my best to remain hidden from the group of peacekeepers that have started building about seventy yards away from the Justice Building. I silently sneak around a building, slowly raising my rifle to a group of peacekeepers. I fire rapidly, rounds fly through the air and punch straight through the peacekeepers.

"Get up here, we'll cover you!" Miles shouts through the radio. I take this as my chance and sprint towards the Justice Building. Lumps of led fly over my head into the army of peacekeepers behind me as I jump onto the stage and into the building, where I find O'Brian firing his rifle out of the door.

"Bastards aren't letting up."

"Have you dealt with the guns?" I ask as I poke my rifle around the corner and fire a few rounds towards the peacekeepers to suppress them.

"All sorted, Boss, when's the support arriving?"

"No clue." I admit with a frustrated grunt. I quickly switch to speaking into my radio. "How's everyone doing?"

"All fine." Miles replies as I hear him fire another round from the side of the stage where he has taken cover.

"This is Bryant, we got vehicl-" I hear a massive explosion and see a shower of fire and metal land throughout the square in front of the Justice Building.

"Bryant! You fucking bastards let me have you!" I hear Pope scream through the radio. "Shit, sir they're coming for me!" Suddenly there's another explosion and another floodlight is gone, and along with another one of my men.

"Fuck we lost them both!" I hear from Miles over the radio as the vehicle comes around the corner of the yard from behind a house. I watch as the turret turns towards the Justice Building, fuck this may be it. I react on instinct and grab O'Brian, throwing him to my side just as a round flies straight through the room and into the concrete wall in the back. Luckily it's in another room and most of the impact is taken by that room.

"On your feet!" I shout to O'Brian. The two of us pick up and run straight through the newly formed hole in the back of the justice Building and out into the treeline behind it. We both run around the right hand side of the building where Miles and heath are firing from cover.

"Phoenix to Adviser, we're two men down and fighting loud." I shout into the radio. A shell from the vehicle flies over my head and cuts through the trees behind me.

"Adviser to Phoenix, try and hold the Justice Building back up will be arriving soon. Out."

"This guy is fucking useless." Miles adds as he pokes his head over the top of the stage and fires into the crowd of peacekeepers. Suddenly there's low rumble and series of shouting and the sound of smashing glass. All of a sudden a group of civilian charge into the pile of peacekeepers, attacking them with pipes and bricks. Suddenly hundred of people appear and start setting fire to buildings. "Shit they've gone nuts."

"Get to work dealing with the peacekeepers." I order as the peacekeepers disperse and start attacking the civilians. I fire at the peacekeepers, very few of them are paying attention to the four soldiers firing at them. Oh hell, I'm now referring myself to as bloody soldier. I jump onto the stage and stand valiantly before the crowds. The vehicle turns it's turret to me, but before it can fire a group of civilians pull the driver from the turret. I motion for them to stop and drag the peacekeepers who are left alive to me, turns out that only five of them survived the ambush. The civilians force the five on to their knees in front of me on the stage. "get up here men."

"Sir." Heath replies as him, Miles and O'Brian come and stand next to me. The crowd starts gathering, all with makeshift weapons or stolen peacekeeper ones. I look to the crowd and see the Butcher standing in the crowd, a smile covering his face as he gives me a determined nod.

"District 7!" I shout as they all cheer back in unison. Now is the time to spark the rebellion. "Some of you may recognise me, most of you won't. twenty years ago i won the fifty-fifth Hunger Games in the name of District 7! On that day I became the Phoenix of District 7! Born and raised in hell, burnt by it's fires, I conquered what ever the Capitol threw at me!"

"Phoenix!" The Butcher shouts at the top of his voice, the older men and women in the crowd all shout Phoenix as well as they raise their weapons to the sky.

"I staged an uprising, I lost, I was trapped in time for nineteen years." I slowly draw my sword and hold it in my hand as I drag the peacekeeper who drove the tank into the middle of the stage, turning him around so he faces the crowd on his knees. "I promised I would return to District 7! Now! Under the banner of the Mockingjay, I return with District 13 at my back!"

The team cheers and raises their weapons into the sky.

"And now we fight! Together we will reclaim our home! Seventy-five years ago District 7 was feared, we were the strongest rebels to be known to the Capitol!" I take a deep breath in as I rest my sword against the peacekeepers neck. "Everything we loved was burnt down, but not anymore, today we begin the fight to take back our home from the ruin, from the ashes we rise!"

I bring my sword back as my armour and weapons ignites, I decapitate the peacekeeper in front of the whole District, my performance gives me a mixture of cheers and awe as I stand before them all in all my flaming glory.

"Organise them into a militia." I order Miles as he takes his place next to me. We both look into the sky and notice a hovercraft coming in low towards us. It stops above as a ladder lowers down for me. I mutter the words and the fire dies away.

"I will. Good luck, sir." Miles says with a small smile as I begin scaling the ladder.

"You too, rifleman." I reply as the current pins me to the ladder and it begins climbing I stare at the rising sun and spot it, a sight that fills me with a mixture of awe, fear, and wonder. Hundred of parachutes falling from the sky, with aircraft flying over to match them. I stare in disbelief, this is it, the invasion has begun; but now isn't the time for this... I have a Mockingjay to protect.


	7. Guardian

I stand amongst the smoking wreckage, all to blend in so the Mockingjay doesn't know that I'm here in case anything goes wrong. I watch as she slowly walks through the ruins of her home, taking in the devastation of war.

i can't help but feel sorry for her as I watch the tears roll down her cheeks. No seventeen year old girl should have to go through all this pain.

I watch as the camera crews film her every move as she gracefully steps through the wreckage. A pain shoots through my chest as I watch her stand amongst the ruins of her home. How would I feel if I was in her place?

"Adviser to Phoenix. District's all clear." Adviser says through the small ear piece in my ear. "She should be fine."

"She won't be fine." I reply with a sad tone as I watch her run away from the ruins and towards the District 12's Victor's Village. I take a quick glance up and spot Gale in the hovercraft above, he turns his attention to me and I beckon him down with a free hand. It doesn't take long for the pilot to lower the aircraft and for Gale to hop out of the back, bow in hand.

"She's not coping." He says with a small sigh and frown. I stand next to him, my arms folded as I watch the Mockingjay run through the town and towards the area that used to be her home.

"Give her space." I advise him, although it came out as more of an order. Gale turns his head to face me and I look back, my expression hidden under the black armour that has become my face.

"She didn't want me walking with her."

"I wouldn't want you walking with me." I reply, Gale frowns slightly and I reply with a small shake of my hand. "Sometimes it's best to be left alone."

"You sound like you know her." Gales replies with a small chuckle, I laugh along for a second before the depth of my comment sinks in.

"Me and her, we're not so different." I say as I invite him to walk with me through the wreckage, but he refuses.

"I don't want to."

"That's fine, Soldier." I reply as I beckon the hovercraft over. The two of us climb the ladder and sit back down in the aircraft. "Give her five more minutes, then call her out."

"Is pulling her out a good idea?"

"We can't stay for too long, Coin will get impatient." I look back over to him as he stares off into the Victor's Village. "Make it seem like you haven't been on the ground, okay?"

"I only stepped in the smoke."

"Then it should be easy." I retort as I stare at Gale.

"What's pissed you off?" I sigh as I turn my attention back towards the District.

"I'll be in the cockpit, say nothing about me."

* * *

Katniss and Gale zip away through the District 13, leaving me hidden in the shadows of the aircraft. Katniss is a strange girl, and judging by how she is around Gale she seems to have developed some sort of feelings for him, but the way she kissed the blonde kid the beach makes me think that she has feelings for him, oh the confusions of youth.

As they walk out of site I begin following the path they took, not because I'm following them but because I know this path leads me to a certain person.

I walk into her office with my weapons on my back. Following the last visit I don't feel comfortable without being able to slice this bitches head off.

"The invasion of the District 7 has begun? Satisfied? I intend on keeping our Mockingjay away from District 7 to avoid you." Coin informs me as she scans through the many files resting upon her desk.

"That's if she accepts the position." I reply with a small frown as I cross my arms and stand before Coin. As much as she loves to think I'm one of her soldiers, I'm far from it.

"She'll accept, even if it involves making a deal, like I did with you."

"Was I nothing more than a practice run?"

"In all honestly, Phoenix, I would much prefer you were our symbol and this war was started twenty years ago." Coin lets out a long drawn sigh as she looks through another one of the many files on her desk, this one has a picture of me in it. She quickly glances down to the picture, then to me, then back to the picture. "File says you lost two men."

"K.I.A." Is all I reply with as I feel my shoulders drop. I sent those men into the watchtowers, their deaths are on my conscious. I wonder how many more people will be _killed in action_ under my leadership.

"Don't worry, you'll be sent replacements."

"I would prefer I didn't need them." I snap back. I thought that I would be fighting this war on my own, as an assassin, not as a commander.

"I'm afraid that your leadership abilities mean you'll be far more useful if you both lead and fight. We can't afford to become to specialised in one subject." Coin's logic rings sound, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy it. "You should be deployed back into District 7 tomorrow, we'll drop you in at Justi-"

"I want to be dropped in the peacekeeper camp." I interrupt in a harsh tone. Coin raises an eyebrow to me.

"Be reasonable, we aren't going to throw a valuable asset at the peacekeepers like that."

"Why not?"

"Why do you want to?" She snaps back.

"Thread." I answer in a quiet tone. Coin's features soften as she realises what I'm speaking of. "Commander Thread is in District 7, he survived 12, I need to kill him." Coin lets out a long drawn sigh and falls into her chair.

"I can't throw you at the peacekeepers, you're too valuable." She looks back up to me, there's a but coming in this comment. "But Commander thread is a highly valuable target, he's on a list I have compiled for you."

"A list?" I question as Coin hands me a small holo, I'm having a serious case of deja vu right now. "Of targets?"

"These are people we want you to... Dispose of... Or capture for interrogation." Coin says as she slides another file across her desk. She then withdraws a file from her desk and hands it to me. I clip the holo against the black belt I wear on my armour and take the file into my hands. My breath almost escapes my lips as I study her picture.

"Kate?" I ask in a mixture of confusion and shock. Coin points downwards and I scan through her information. Something has been changed, and recently. Citizenship... District 7/13? "District 13 citizenship? As far as i was aware, me and Kate were citizens of no where."

"Nomads was a term that was commonly used." Fucking great, yet another title. "I've given her citizenship, for all your hard work. When we wake her up, she'll be given a job, a home, she'll be fully protected by the District."

"By then the war will be over and we'll be going home." I reply with a small chuckle and a shake of my head. What is she trying to butter me up fo... Unless of course there's more to it than this. I look back up from the file to Coin. "When?"

"After you've earned it."

"When?" I demand as i tighten my grip on the file. I know exactly what she's getting at.

"Next time we send you on a contract, that will be your reward."

"Then send me on one now." I retort as I throw Kate's file to Coin. "We're playing games with her life here."

"You be patient, wait for the next contract, you complete it, and then we'll wake Kate." She informs me with a small frown. Then extends her hand to me. "Do we have a deal?"

"Deal." I reply instantly and shake her hand. When it comes to Kate, I'm willing to do whatever it takes. "Anything else needed, ma'am."

"Yes, there's one more thing..."

* * *

"Katniss is away at the moment, I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw your name."

"I could hardly believe who she was." I reply as I sit on the same bed as Mrs. Everdeen, the two of speaking civilly to each other. Across the hall sits her daughter, Prim, staring at me with wide eyes. I had waited until Katniss was away to see Mrs. Everdeen, seeing Prim was just a bonus. "It's hard to believe I helped with their lives."

"If it wasn't for you they wouldn't be here." Mrs. Everdeen replied as she turns to prim and smiles. From what I have heard, Mrs. Everdeen didn't speak to people much, so her speaking to me was a great honour, and most likely healing for her.

"Thank you, mister." Prim says with a small smile as she sits cross legged on the floor, looking up to me with those deep blue eyes.

"It's my pleasure." I reply as I remove my mask and place it on the bed. Mrs. Everdeen gasps.

"You haven't aged a day!"

"I was kept in a form of stasis for eighteen years, it's only been a year since we last saw each other for me." She stares in shock, I've got used to the idea of missing eighteen years, but for others it must seem like a fate worse than death.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know." She looks down at the mask for a moment then back to my face. "All of Panem believed you were dead."

"Even Snow?"

"All of Panem." She repeats. "The executions you performed were broadcasted live, including when you turned on the peacekeepers."

"What did they say?"

"The official story was that you suffered a mental breakdown. Most people believe it... You never were stable during the Games." I don't feel offended by her comment, it was true, I have never been mentally stable. "Some of us thought otherwise, but we kept quiet."

"I was kept secret." I reply with a sad smile.

"You still are kept secret. Why are you kept secret from the other Victors?"

"Classified information sorry." She gives me a sad smile, I can't just shoot her down like this. "Just know that I'm trying to protect your daughter."

"That makes me feel a lot better." Mrs. Everdeen says with a small smile. "If anyone can protect my daughter, it's you."

"Did you help get my parents engaged?" Prim asks from the floor. I turn my attention to her and nod happily.

"But we'll have to keep that a secret from your sister." I say tapping my nose.

"I never keep secrets from my sister."

"Sometimes we have to keep things hidden, for the people we love." I say with a sad smile. Images of Kate fill my mind and I let out along drawn sigh. I turn my head back up to Mrs. Everdeen. "We'll speak again, right now I have another person to visit."

* * *

I sit in my chair, happily playing my guitar as I stare at Kate's peaceful face. You'll be awake soon my darling. I look up to the TV into the corner of my room. Caesar Flickerman is talking and I can't help but laugh as I study the man's face. He's just as charming as ever. I grab the remote from the table next to Kate's bed and turn the volume up so I can hear the man. The camera pulls away and I spot the boy that Katniss was kissing, sitting next to the Caesar.

"So... Peeta... Welcome back." He begins. So Peeta was the boys name, he looks like a decent enough kid I must admit.

"I bet you thought you'd done your last interview with me, Caesar."

"I confess, I did." Caesar replies. I listen to the two talk as i slowly strum my guitar. Peeta speaks of the feeling in the games and I can't help but empathise with him, I know exactly what it feels like to go into an arena to die for someone.

I speed up the playing on my guitar, attempting more and more difficult frets when I suddenly stop. Peeta's shouting at Caesar about how Katniss is innocent and he's calling for a cease-fire. A cease-fire? Some thing's off there... There is no way anyone would call for a cease-fire unless... Oh Snow, you sly bastard, you! I'm looking forward to ending your life I must be honest.

Suddenly Peeta calls the interview over and that's that. Caesar concludes the interview and then it's done. I mute the TV and continue playing to Kate as I wonder what's happening to Peeta right now. For about ten minutes I just sit and strum the guitar.

"See, my darling? We aren't in that bad of a position." I say as I strum the guitar. It's hard to find any form of upside to any of this war, but at least we aren't prisoners, aren't we? I snap out of day dream and rest the guitar on the floor. "You'll be awake soon my darling."

"We can hope." I hear from my left. On instinct I draw my sword and point it at the voice. I lower the sword as I watch Gale walk into my little sanctuary uninvited. "I didn't realise this was the girl you was on about a few days ago."

"I didn't realise you didn't know how to knock." I snap back as I place the sword back in it's sheath. Gale laughs for a moment as he walks to my side. Then stares at her with a solemn expression. "What is it?"

"Katniss saw Peeta." He quickly says. I find it strange that Gale comes to me to speak of these things, probably because he knows none of this information will ever get to Katniss.

"And?"

"And she took it pretty hard... But she's agreed to be the Mockingjay." I let out a sigh of relief at this point and rest my palms against the bed. Thank fuck, we need her more than ever. "You okay?"

"Yeah, Gale, I'm fine." I answer with a small laugh as I run my gauntlet covered hand down Kate's arm. "We have our Mockingjay, now all this isn't for nothing."

"All this?" Gale questions.

"You want to know?"

"Everything."

"Everything?"

"The whole story." He replies. I slide the chair over to him and motion for him to sit, and he does so. I take in a deep breath, and then remove my mask, resting it on the bed as I hoist myself up so I am seated at the edge of the bed facing Gale. Gale stares at my face in disbelief.

"It's a long tale."

"Katniss has gone back to her family, I have time."

"Then listen in."


	8. Back in The Games

"That's hell of a tale." Gale says with a small chuckle. It had taken me a good two hours to go through all the details and answer his questions, but now at least he understood why I was selected to protect the girl he loved, and that Peeta loved.

"It makes for a good story, but not a good life to live." I reply as I slide my mask back over my face.

"People have been wondering why you wear the mask."

"I'm sure you could find my Games in an old archive somewhere, they were quite popular from what I heard." Gales chuckles for a moment as I tilt my head to him in confusion.

"So you really set the whole District one fire?" I chuckle then in return.

"No just the Ruins. The Capitol set the rest of the arena on fire to make it more dramatic." I said with a small laugh, but inside my mind I am reliving the moment that I stepped out the ruins and was surrounded by the Lizards, their fires burning bright as they led me to me fate.

"And I thought Catnip's Games were bad."

"They were bad for many different reasons." I reply as I turn my attention back to Kate. "She had no love to come home to."

"Oh." I can tell by Gale's voice that I've struck a chord, but judging by what I've seen of her it's obvious she had the same feelings I did when I went into that arena, no time for love, only conflict. "Maybe she did."

"Maybe she does now, but trust me, love is the last thing in your mind in that arena."

"What is the first?"

"Survival for most." I reply with a long drawn sigh as I think of Hasta and Claire, both had a fire in them brighter than anyone I had ever known. "For me it was Claire."

"Was she anything like Catnip?" I have to admit, Gale calling Katniss Catnip is rather cute, if not slightly sickening.

"Not really." I reply as I let out a long drawn sigh again. "I was far more like Katniss."

"You seemed like the first attempt at the Mockingjay."

"I was." I reply with a sad smile. "I am the Phoenix, Katniss is the Mockingjay. She represents defiance, I represented vengeance."

"Do you still want it?"

"Vengeance?"

"Yeah."

"With all my heart."

* * *

"How was playing bodyguard?" Miles asks as I slide down the ladder from the hovercraft and land outside the Justice Building with a loud thud. I give the metal a few taps and the hovercraft rises into the sky and accelerates back to District 13.

"Eventful, but luckily there was no fighting." Miles gave a small laugh as several of the District 7 Militia as they were called jogged past with a District 13 soldier leading them from the front.

"I thought you liked the violence?"

"Only when I'm causing it." I reply and we both laugh together. Miles motions for me to walk with him and I do. I observe the District as we walk, it seems that the whole village has been turned into an encampment. Concrete walls were being established around the town, they were made to be temporary until after the war is over, where we'll then take them down and send them to somewhere the needs them.

Soldiers and Militia run in all directions, or clean their weapons, or sort out their gear, or eat food, everything you'd expect to happen in a base is happen all at the same time.

"Who's organising the militia?" I ask Miles. He lets out a long drawn sigh and turns to me, I tilt my head slightly in confusion.

"Two colonels from 13 and-"

"Right you bastards! Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough!" I hear shouted over all the machinery from behind a armoured transport vehicle. I recognise that voice, it may be older but I know it.

"Him..." Miles finally concludes. I feel a sense of excitement fill me as I jog around the vehicle and spot a very old friend of mine, looking like he's in his late thirties now but I know exactly who it is. He throws a punch to one of the militia, she ducks underneath it and proceeds with an uppercut. He blocks it and goes to throw her, but before he has chance I come in from the side and tackle him to the ground shouting:

"On guard!" As the two of us take off and fly down onto the dirt beneath us. As out of character as that was of me, I couldn't help after I heard my old friend's voice. I sit up and watch as he rubs his eyes, then they focus on me.

"Seth?" He questions for a moment, rubbing his eyes again and then looking back to me. "Seth ya crazy bastard! I haven't seen you since you tried to kill everyone!"

"Good to see you too, William." I reply with a laugh as the two of us rise to our feet. I extend my arms and William grasps my forearm firmly, this isn't too different to how we came across each other after my feast.

"You know this guy?" Miles ask as he comes to my side. William tuts as he shakes his head, his greying hair and beard flowing over his dirt covered and slightly wrinkled face.

"Making friends with soldiers, I thought we didn't like authority?" He asks with a large smile plastered over his face as he releases my arm. I take a quick glance to miles, who obviously hasn't got used to District 7 humour yet.

"Naa it was white I had a thing against." I joke back as William laughs. His face then turns serious.

"We all thought you were dead, when the word started being spread that you'd come back, all the old timers didn't believe it." I know what he's asking me to do, and seems so does everybody else because they have all stopped and turned their attention to me. I let out a long drawn sigh and pull my mask off from my face, it seems to be coming off a lot recently. "It is true then, you haven't lost a year."

"I lost eighteen." I reply as I slide the mask back over my face. "I just lost them to a bad case of unconsciousness."

"I'm sorry." William said with a sad smile. "Anyway, I suppose you'll want to see what the Militia has gathered?"

"Right away." I reply with a happier tone as me and Miles follow William into the Justice Building.

* * *

I walk into the room where the peacekeeper gun had blown out the wall, but now it was covered up with a series of wooden planks and a wire ran out it, judging by the holo table in the middle of the large room I can only assume some kind of generator must be placed outside.

"Ah, the Phoenix of District 7. A pleasure to meet you, Colonel Bird, a pleasure." She says with a smile as she extends her hand to me, I accept it with a firm shake. Bird seemed like a nice woman, about twenty-five with long black hair and deep blue eyes, I'm amazed she's such a high rank at such a young age.

"Pleasure is all mine, Colonel. How's the District doing?" I ask, trying to make some form of conversation before I get showered with orders.

"Fine at the moment, Peacekeepers have already set up a perimeter a few miles ahead of the Capitol, but I'm confident we can break through." She informs me as she starts moving small holographic people around the table, leaving me, Miles, and William in complete confusion. "Apologise, I'm used to talking to officers."

"He is an officer, ma'am." Miles informs her as he looks between me and the colonel.

"I'm aware, but not due to the training process."

"Well that was a bit elitist." William adds with a small smile. I give him a shocked look, the William I knew all those years ago could barely pronounce his own name let alone have an impressive and extensive vocabulary.

"But true." Bird replies as she looks back up to me, not with any form of bitterness, but with what? That's when it hits me, admiration... "Then again, so far you haven't made a bad call, well here's your chance to help that little more."

"What do you need?" I ask with my arms folded and my posture ready for the worst. I have yet to be given an order which I've actually enjoyed, except of course for the discussion with my next contract. Bird points to the holograms, it showed the "peacekeeper wall" as it had been nicknamed. It was basically a series of small fortresses set up so that the peacekeepers could man these forts and protect the Capitol. Geographically they were close to the Capitol, compared to how far the Justice Building was at least, but I could tell that they must be about ninety miles from the Capitol's walls.

"See the fortress by here? I want you to enter it and gather as much information as possible." She says with a determined look.

"Just me?"

"Just you." She informs me and i feel my heart drop. This isn't one of my contracts, this seems more like a suicide mission. "Coin wants you to gather information on the high ranking officers i-"

"I'll do it." I interrupt, causing a shocked looks from both William and Miles. "I know what Coin wants, Coin wants information on Thread, and I'll get it."

"Thread?" William questioned as he turned his entire body towards me. "Seth you've gone up against this twat before, and last time, we lost."

"No, I lost. The rest of you got out safely."

"You can't go alone, I should go with him." Miles butts in. Bird shoots him a small frown, but Miles stands his ground. "That mission is suicide."

"Not for the Phoenix, have you ever seen his Games, Miles?" Miles falls quiet for a moment, we all fall quiet for a moment, then slowly shakes his head back and forth. "Have you, Militia-man?"

"Sadly."

"Then you know just how... Devastating... He can be." Although it's a compliment, I can't help but feel offended that she sees me as nothing more than a weapon. "If anyone can sneak into the fortress, and make it out alive, it's him."

"You seem to have a fan." William comments with a small smile, sending a blush straight through Bird. I tilt my head slightly as she coughs awkwardly.

"We'll airdrop you in, same as when you dealt with the guns. No heroics like last time though." I slam my fists against the table, causing the holograms to jitter.

"There's no heroics in men's deaths!" I snap as I feeling my shoulders rising and falling with my breathing. I let out a sigh and compose myself, it's very rare I lose my cool with anyone.

"I'm quite impressed, lass." William adds from the side as I straighten myself back up. "I've been trying to get that much emotion out of him in years."

"I'm changed man."

"For the better." Miles chips in, thank god I have these two at my back.

"I'll do the mission, Bird, but I need an evacs ready because I'm not running back here." Bird laughs for a moment.

"I wouldn't think of it, what about the Sergeant here?" i turn my head to face Miles. He knows my answer before I have even said it.

"We'll be on that evac craft to give you support." Miles says with a sad smile. I place I firm hand on his shoulder.

"I'll be fine."

"Whatever you say, Boss." Miles replies. "What do you want me to do in meantime?"

"Help William with training the militia, I'll be back as soon as I am able." The two men both give me a firm nod, Miles shoots a quick salute to Bird then leaves the room. I go to turn when I hear Bird call from behind me.

"We have some news you might enjoy."

"What is that?" I ask as I turn my attention back to Bird. She smiles for a moment.

"Our Mockingjay has begun working." She informs me with a large smile. I look down for a moment and start laughing. Then leave the room without a word. This is really it then, we finally have our symbol, and I can finally let go of the old ideas of the Phoenix.


	9. Sneaky Sneaky

But the ideas of the Phoenix didn't give up on me, no in fact they intensified.

As I travel in the dead of night on my own in the back of the hovercraft, a small hologram of Coin appears from the holo that she gave me.

"We have our Mockingjay. The stage is set. You'll be glad to know that, for now, we are keeping her out of combat." I sigh in relief, less baby sitting for me it seems.

"When will I get my next contract, ma'am?"

"Patience, when we have use for you we'll send you on your next contract." Coin informs me, I give a quick nod and turn the holo off, I don't want to speak to politicians right before I get sent into enemy territory. Suddenly the holo lights up again. "Oh, what the fuck do you want?"

"I wasn't finished." Coin says bitterly as I roll my eyes under my mask. "We intend on using your Phoenix reputation to do more than inspire District 7."

"What else do you want?"

"We want you, when the time is right, to be the symbol of terror." Symbol of terror? "We intend on sending you into the Capitol to kill politicians, you'll then leave a small note, and leave the Capitol. Think about."

"Co-" This time the holo cuts out of me. "Fucking bitch!"

* * *

I slide down the ladder and watch as the hovercraft zips away from the fortress that's about half a mile away, this is probably the closest that the aircraft will ever get to any of the peacekeepers.

I spin on heels and begin jogging south-west, the direction of the fortress. I have never been to this part of District 7 and everything feel alien, the trees are far closer together and most of them are evergreens and not the normal seasonal trees we get further up north. In all honesty is seems nice down here, the weather is far warmer and there is a distinct lack of massive monsters trying to eat people.

"Phoenix to Adviser."

"This is Adviser, go ahead Phoenix, over."

"I've got eyes on the fortress," twenty foot high stone walls with watchtowers on each of the eight corners of the fence, "how exactly do I get in?"

"Intel shows that there's a large mesh gate in the front."

"Aye..."

"Don't use it, they'll spot you a mile away." Gee, thanks, Adviser. Fucking font of all knowledge he is. "You could try scaling the wall, the concrete is extremely weak, and it's only a foot thick."

"What do you want me to do, stab it?" I ask sarcastically, judging from the silence I know the answer. "Are you really suggesting I stab through the wall?"

"Not unless you've got a better option."

"Bollocks." I mutter through the radio.

"Bollocks?" Adviser questions from the other end of the radio.

"Yeah, bollocks."

"What are bollocks?"

"If you were more of a man you'd know. Phoenix, out." I close down the coms and chuckle to myself proudly, I bet that comment has gone straight over his head.

I take a hard look at the fort, by the looks of it, being as though it's largely unmanned, it's not fully complete yet, that would also explain why the concrete is weak.

I sneak as quickly as possible to the wall and tuck against it. There's a single peacekeeper patrol of six men, and peacekeepers in four of the eight towers, each with a flood light. I take a quick glance at the spikes on my forearm, and then stab them into the wall. Luckily the hook shape seems to hold me in place, so I begin climbing.

I'm glad that I hadn't lost my upper body strength, otherwise this climb would be impossible, and trying to force the grips of my boots into the tiny holes I had made previously proved a massive challenge, how the peacekeepers hadn't heard me I will never know.

Each time the patrol passed I froze, shaking violently as I struggled to pull myself that extra inch.

Finally I manage to wrap my hands around the top of the wall and pull myself up and over the wall as quick as possible, trying not to attract too much attention.

i jump down the other side of the wall, landing with a role as I scan the area. The courtyard is massive, there must be about two hundred metres from the wall to the large building that sits in the centre. I scan the perimeter, most of the walls have buildings and vehicles placed besides them, but there seems to be a distinct lack of peacekeepers and lights.

"Are you sure I'm in the right one, Adviser?" I ask as my eyes scan through the fortress, it was silent.

"Positive. Out." Slowly but surely Adviser is becoming less and less formal, and I'm glad of it, I hate all the radio bullcrap they tried to drum into me.

I keep low to the ground and move quickly as I pass through the shadows and towards the main building's door. A ten foot high steel door with a simple pass code. I let out a long drawn sigh, i hate these bastard things.

"Adviser. Password." I demand, as images flash back into my mind of the night I assassinated the first Commander Thread in the Capitol. I start to feel my heart beat rising, what's happening to me? I've never had flashbacks or any form of mental instability on a job, in fact having an objective kept me sane.

"Stand by, Phoenix." Adviser says back with a small sigh. I take deep breaths and clench my fists, trying to take my mind away from the images of the fire in my mind. "Type in Lemur, Oscar, Romeo , Niner, Niner, four."

"Working on it." I inform Adviser as I press the buttons into the small lock. It turns from red to green and I quickly slide through the door and shut it behind me. I'm in the fortress, a large corridor extends in front of me with doors coming off it and a spiral staircase at the end.

This place, this is the kind of environment that Miles would love. Straight lines everywhere, it's like fighting in a shooting gallery.

The lights were off, except for those signature low red lights that were used to prepare soldiers for night time vision. I sneak as quietly as possible through the corridor, snapping my head back and forth as I look to the doors. All the lights seem to be off, and I can only assume that any peacekeepers that are in here are asleep.

"Phoenix to Adviser, where am I going?"

"Up the stair case, large room at the end of the corridor." Adviser informs me. If you think about it, he doesn't real give advice, he more just dishes out orders left right and centre. "In there should be a holo table, use your holo to download the information."

"Download?" I ask in confusion, I had heard the term before but I never really understood what it meant.

"Download: Transferring information from one electronic device into another."

"Oh. That's pretty simple." I chuckle in amusement, a small amount of nervousness as I rest my foot against the first step, hoping for my life that it doesn't creek. Luckily, fate's on my side this time, and the steps remain quiet as I begin my climb.

"Not everything in 13 is over complicated."

"Your battle strategies are."

"That's to confuse the enemy, Phoenix, you should know that."

"Have you seen the soldiers try and pull it off?" I'm quite amazed that I've actually started a normal conversation with the Adviser. "If you wanted to confuse everyone, including your own troops, you've done a bloody good job at it."

"We're done talking about this. Adviser, out."

"Oh you're no fun!" I whisper with a small laugh as I continue sneaking towards the large door at the end of the corridor. All the lights are off so I decide to straighten my back and walk quietly, my rifle in my hand just in case something goes wrong.

As I approach the door i hear voices. I slowly press the door and listen in as the voices grow clearer.

"What do you think has got them so stirred up? I thought District 7 would be passive."

"District 7 has never been passive." I know that voice all too well. I peak my head around the corner and spot him, my nemesis, Commander Thread. He's much older now, but even more terrifying. "There's always been a hint of hate within them."

"Ever since the accident that killed that victor?"

"You know it was far more than an accident." Thread replies as I watch him circle the blue holo table, scanning the map of District 7. "It's not the first time they've tried rebelling, and they seem to have a fascination with flaming birds."

"What are going to do?" The other peacekeeper asked, I can only assume he's Thread's right hand man.

"Isn't it obvious? We kill them all." Thread replied with no sound of regret in his voice. I feel my grip tighten around my rifle. I want to kill him so bad, just like I killed his Father, but if I make any stupid mistakes I'll be joining him in death shortly afterwards.

"What about man power after the war? We need to rebuild the District."

"We can bring people in from other Districts, maybe other from District 2, at least they are loyal to the Capitol." Ahhh so that's what he wants to do, completely wipe the slate clean so that the Capitol can indoctrinate more of the District.

"Seems a bit extreme."

"Extreme circumstances, I wouldn't have volunteered to come to this District if I didn't have plans on finishing the job." I decide to turn the transmitter on and allow the sound of Thread to fill Advisers ears. "We won't march out to meet them, they'll come to us."

"Then we can hit them with a barrage, followed by a full offensive." The other peacekeeper adds.

"That's only if we can get them out and into our field." Thread adds as he starts flicking through the several different images on the holo table. The other peacekeeper lets out a long sigh.

"Who would have thought a teenage girl could make an entire District turn against the Capitol?"

"There's more going on here." Thread adds, he seemed to be getting wiser in his old age. "Something about this doesn't seem right."

"Think there's foul play?" Thread laughs for a moment.

"Oh, I am certain of it." And with that Thread tuns off the table and they both begin walking this way. I slide into the corner and point my rifle verticle, taking in a deep breath.

The world seems to slow as the two peacekeepers walk past me continue down the hallway without noticing that I was there. When I see that they've gone down the stairs I let out a relieved sigh and enter the room.

"Okay, Adviser, how do I start the download?" I ask as I unclip the small holo from my belt and place it onto the table.

"Leave it there, I'll do the rest from here."

"Did you hear Thread?"

"We have it all on record now, good work." Adviser says over the radio, causing the sides of my lips to pick up a bit. I take it upon myself to look around the dark room, it seems all the power has been forced into the holo table, maybe they haven't set up a generator yet?

I continue my little search, looking for anything amongst the tables and file casings that I could find useful.

"Phoenix."

"Coin?" I ask in surprise. Why the hell is she communicating with me over the radio?

"I have an order for you. When the download is finished, engrave your symbol into the holo table." She orders. I turn to the holo and watch as it starts beeping.

"Adviser to Phoenix, download is done. Get to work." This time I follow Advisers orders gladly, i draw my sword and stab it into the table, carving the phoenix rising into the table with an artists amount of detail. I the grab the holo and place it back onto my belt.

"What now?" I ask in with a pit of rage filling my stomach. I don't want to just leave a picture, I want to leave a painting made of peacekeeper blood, with my sword being the brush.

"Sneak back out."

* * *

It wasn't difficult to sneak back out, it was even later and even the guards on the watchtowers were asleep. In fact i had practically walked to the wall, climbed over, and happily jogged into the forest to where a hovercraft had landed for me.

I climb into the back and let out a content sigh. Another successful mission. No one could deny that I am definitely playing my part in this war, and it felt good to have purpose again, maybe it will help keep me together.

"You're not going back to District 7." A voice comes in from over the radio. It's Coin again, and now she's pissed me off. "People at the District want you back."

"Why?"

"I'm being told in the morning." The radio gives me it's signature static sound and I know she's gone. I let out a long drawn sigh, it feels like I'm fighting this war on my own.

**A/N: Well I'll be having a short break from fanfic it seems. I've been selected for a shooting competition and as such I won't be back for a few days :) Have fun all! :D**


	10. Casualties of War

I land with a loud crash as I jump from the ladder and onto District 8's soil. Katniss should arrive in an hour, and I want time to do some reconnaissance in case something goes wrong. Luckily, I'm not alone on this mission.

"Well this sucks more than 7."

"Oh fuck up, Miles." I shoots back with a low chuckle. Miles turns to me with a large grin on his face, he likes to make a habit of complaining about anywhere that isn't District 13, but this time he's right. District 8 is in ruins, and as I scan the area, i can see it's been bombed recently, very recently, is this the barrage that Thread spoke of last night? "Look at this place, it's ruined."

"We've been lucky in 7."

"For now, they're going to begin the march to the Capitol as soon as possible." I give him a surprised look.

"That's what Thread wants!" I snap back, mentally slapping myself for not going back to District 7 to sort the idiots in charge out.

"Yes he does, but if we don't press forward we'll get no where. You don't want us all to just sit in District 7 and do nothing do you? Or do you want us to take the Capitol." Miles was right, we needed to press forward, but how much of District 7 that will be left at the end of this assault will be left to forces that neither me or Coin could control. Miles lets out a long drawn sigh. "District is clear, do you want to pay a visit to the hospital?"

"I think Katniss might be visiting there."

"Katniss is it?" Miles asks with a cheeky grin as he motions for me to follow him to the hospital, I roll my eyes and walk slowly by his side. "Developing feelings for her?"

"You know about Kate."

"I don't mean those kind of feelings." I turn my head to him in confusion as I stop on the dirt road, Miles laughs as he stops and turns to face me. "I'm not stupid, I've seen your body posture change when someone mentions the Mockingjay."

"What do you mean?" I ask in genuine confusion, I'm as cold as ice when it comes to talking about Katniss. Well... To everyone except Gale, but that's because he loves her.

"Your shoulders get lower, you head drops that tiny bit, the only other time I've seen you like that is when I asked you about Kate."

"What are you saying?"

"What I'm saying is that you think you owe her something, and I can understand why you feel that way." I go to object, but Miles just lifts his hand to me and I fall silent. "As much as you hate to admit it, Seth," he called me Seth? No one calls me Seth,"and as much as the Districts and the Capitol love to brand you with all these titles of all your problems, it's none of those."

"What's wrong with me then?"

"What's wrong?" Miles asked with a sad smile. "You're just like all of us, Seth, you're just broken."

"What would you know about being broken?" I snap back to him, I don't want to accept that the Capitol have beaten me, that the capitol has always beaten me.

"I know you were quiet, silent even." He begins and I feel my muscles tighten as he speaks, he's going on about old Seth... How does he know about old Seth? "I know you had one friend. I know you were burnt across your face, torso, and right arm."

"That's enough."

"I know you volunteered for Claire. I know you fought alongside her and boy from District 4 named Hasta."

"Stop it. Now." I order as I clench my fists as the anger boils inside of me.

"I know you fought against Ludo, the two of you were forced to work together. I know you took an arrow to the stomach. I know you watched Hasta and Clair-"

"Stop!" I shout as I throw a right hook across his face, sending a crack through the air as I stand above his crumpled form on the floor, I must have hit him harder than I thought. Miles rolled onto his back laughing.

"I know that..." He started laughing again as he got back to his feet. "I know you have a strange thing against oranges."

"Why are you doing this?" I ask in a tone of despair. Miles stares at me with that sad smile he wears so well.

"Because the first step to fixing yourself, is to realise what's broken." I let out a long drawn sigh.

"Let's just go to the fucking hospital."

* * *

How I wish that I had taken that comment back. Death was something I was used to, and every time i was it's messenger I made sure the message was short; but here it is far from short.

I walk slowly through the rows of screaming people, bleeding people, dying people. Death had no mercy on these poor men and woman... And children. I've killed children, I'm a Victor after all, but that seemed so much different to now, and as I walk past the lines of bodies covered with thin white sheets I can't help but feel that anger building inside of me again. I need to learn to be cold again, like I used to be

"He's going to pay for this." I mutter under my breath to Miles, who is standing by my side.

"Snow? You're right on that behalf." Miles replies as he watches a poor woman to our right cough blood all over her clothes. Miles withdraws a small cloth from his pocket and begins cleaning her up, trying his best to stop her from falling over and passing out. "You're not going to want to see this."

"I've seen worse." I reply as I hold the girl's shoulders in place, allowing Miles to get to work cleaning her up. She looks to me with dead eyes, the only other eyes I had seen like that were my own in Claire's, when she brought me back to life.

"Thank you." Is all the woman managed to groan as her head fell to her chest. Miles brought his fingers to her neck and pressed lightly, holding them there for a second.

"She's just asleep." He informs me as he lowers her back onto the bed and brings the blanket up to her chin. "Hopefully she'll be fine."

"Hopefully." I repeat as I help him to his feet. Images of me laying in the machines, with the blood pouring from my wounds, start to fill my head so quickly that I have to grasp my head to maintain my headache.

"Hey, you okay? Want to go?" Miles asks slightly worried.

"Yeah, I need the air." I reply as I storm from the hospital, taking a full lung of air and breathing back out slowly. We hadn't spent long in the hospital... Oh shit, that's the hovercraft. I shoot Miles a concerned look as I take off into one of the piles of rubble and crouch down as I watch Katniss and Gale walk among the District. I have to admit, that's a hell of a uniform she's wearing, but can it set on fire?

"You really are going for this whole not being seen thing, aren't you?" Miles asks with a small chuckle as he watches Gale and Katniss walk into the hospital. "She's gone, you're safe."

"Thank god." I sigh as I stand up and climb from the wreckage.

"So why you keeping yourself hidden?"

"Long story." I reply, shutting down the conversation there and then. I can't admit to Miles that I am the Mockingjay's personal assassin.

"You can just say when you don't want to tell me."

"Fine, I don't want to tell you." I snap back. Miles giggles for a moment, the temper that I've developed seems to be amusing him greatly. Suddenly the radio flared up.

"Adviser to Phoenix, do you read?"

"Go ahead, Adviser." I reply as I roll my eyes at the formal bull-crap that had to be done. For the most part, I didn't mind being a member of the military, but all the formalities, and saluting officers and other shit like that really pissed me off.

"There's a bombing run incoming, get to the alarm and be ready to press it when you see the hovercraft, over." Of course I'm going to ask questions, Adviser has made a habit of leaving me to turn off the radio because I normally keep asking for intel updates.

"Where is it?" I ask in a frightened tone. People I can kill easy. Hovercraft? How the fuck am I supposed to bring one of those bastards down?

"There's a warehouse with a blue light, to the side in an alley there will be ladder, climb it and get to work." Adviser orders over the radio.

"Don't have to tell us twice, Miles, out." I chuckle slightly as the two of us begin jogging down towards the warehouse. "What?"

"You're losing that professionalism." I say with a cheeky smile hidden under my mask. Miles roles his eyes.

"I'm just as professional, I'm just coming around to your view point." He says with a smile as we sprint to the warehouse. Miles begins climbing and I stay at the base of the ladder, my rifle loaded and ready as I scan the perimeter, don't want to get ambushed after all. I hear the signature three taps on metal on metal from on top of the ladder, this was basically Miles signalling that he was covering me from up top and it's safe to climb. I sling my rifle over my shoulder and begin climbing as quick as possible, trying my best to not slip and fall to my death.

When I reach the top I spot Miles sprinting to a huge machine gun rested on the top of the warehouse, this thing is so big that Miles has to sit on his arse to fire the damn thing. He points the gun to the sky and gives me a worried look. I kneel next to him, my rifle in my shoulder ready for action. That's when I hear her voice behind me, she must be shouting bloodiy loudly.

"God that girl's got a pair of lungs on her." Miles comments, never taking his eyes off the sky. I look down the scope of my rifle, regulating my breathing as I scan the sky, looking for any sign of these war birds that are making there way to the Mockingjay.

"There!" I shout as I point the rifle into the sky and fire a few rounds. Luckily my rifle is silenced or I bet Katniss would have come running. Miles goes to fire but I stop him. "Wait for the others to fire first, I don't want Katniss thinking she should come up here."

"What ever you say, Boss." Miles replies as we wait a few minutes, meaning we missed the first wave of bombers, but sure enough, another group of soldiers begin firing, and I take a quick peek over the warehouse I notice Katniss sprinting towards them. "May I?"

"I insist." I reply with a small smile as Miles pulls the trigger and the sound of death dealing led flies through the air. I quickly follow suit firing into the air at the V shaped formation of hovercraft heading towards us.

"This is fucking useless, I don't know where the rounds are going!" I quickly looked down to my belt for a special type of round I normally carry on me, Miles always said it was a good idea for when your gear was playing up. I reloaded and started firing into the sky. Tracer rounds were a sight for sore eyes.

"I'm falling behind." I inform his as the first wave fly over, suddenly something impales itself into the engine, causing an explosion that blinds me for a moment. When I look back up the hovercraft have gone. "What the fuck?"

"I think our little Mockingjay just took out two hovercraft with one arrow." Shit and I thought that I was good. A second wave in a V formation start coming towards us and I begin firing, this time my tracer rounds start hitting the cockpit of the aircraft. Then I hear that dreaded sound, dead man's click.

"I'm out of tracers." I shout as I reload the rifle back with normal rounds. I glance to my right and watch as Miles fires relentlessly at the bombers above us, each shot echoing with a powerful boom. Which followed with a loud sound of metal ripping through metal.

"I've got my eye on and..." Suddenly there's a loud click followed by a lot of cursing from Miles. "It's jammed!"

"I've got it." I mutter as I release another shot into the cockpit. I can see through the scope a massive squirt of blood crash against the windscreen and, as I watch the hovercraft, descend into the floor, I know I've hit my mark. I let out a long drawn sigh, no more hovercraft, but that feeling of relief disappears when I turn and see the pillars of smoking rising from the hospital. We lost.

"Fuck!" Miles shouts as he grasps his head with his hands. "Where's the Mockingjay?"

"She's down there, giving a speech." I mutter quietly as I watch her through the scope of my rifle, my finger constantly on the safety to make sure I don't accidentally shoot her. As the camera crews pack up, and Gale stands to her side, I lower my rifle and turn to Miles.

"We can't win every fight."

"I don't expect us to." I watch as a hovercraft materialises above us and drops a ladder down for me and Miles. "In fact, I expect us to lose, very shortly."

"You're referring to District 7?" Miles asks with a small frown. I nod as we begin climbing the ladder, suddenly the holo goes off and a small picture of Coin appears.

"Ma'am?"

"We've got your next contract, and I think you'll like this one."


	11. Nightmares and Dreams

**President Snow's Point of View**

"What point are you trying to make, Commander?" I ask in a frustrated tone as the fool on the other side of the hologram sighs in irritation, one that I am reflecting as I rub slow circles in my temples.

"I think they've found a new Phoenix, sir." Commander Thread replies with a stern expression. Images of the table, engraved with that old symbol of rebellion, appear at the bottom of the hologram. I let out a low hum as I absorb the images.

"Impossible. The Phoenix is dead, we saw to it personally." I reply. The thought of the Phoenix, or anything to do with him, still burning after nearly twenty years is preposterous, and right now we have a real rebel symbol to exterminate. "Now I suggest you get back to work securing District 7, before I send your replacement."

"Sir." Commander Thread replies quickly as his face disappears from the hologram, leaving the images of the table in it's place. I study them with half closed eyes, the phoenix has been beautifully carved I must admit, and Seth Greenlaw was no artist.

It's remarkable. I have used many Victors over the years. Most have been sold in prostitution, bribery, and many other foul jobs, but Seth Greenlaw left a lasting impression when he accidentally warned me of the dangers the Capitol was really in.

I look around the room for a moment, taking in the low lighting from the skyscraper that I am sat in. The Mansion is an obvious place for a President to be staying, so doing all my work in a penthouse on top of a skyscraper seemed both powerful and safer.

This one of many safe rooms in the Capitol, but this room is by far the one I occupy the most. The blinds are always drawn down, the rooms always smells of roses, and a glass of white wine is always laid to the right of my computer.

I hear a knock from the large wooden doors at the end of my office.

"Yes?" I call as I re-adjust myself in my seat, showing any sign of exhaustion is a sign of weakness.

"It's your daughter, sir." I hear called from the peacekeeper guarding the door. I stand and make my way over to the door, opening it with a neutral expression. There, before me, stands my daughter, with her low flowing blonde hair. I give a nod to the two peacekeepers who walk down the long corridor to the elevator at the bottom of the elevator. They walk in and leave me with my child.

"Hello, Father." She starts without emotion. I close the wooden doors behind me, something isn't right here. I take a step forward to her, but she doesn't show any sign of response. I frown in confusion, extending my hand which passing through her arm. She's a hologram.

Suddenly the lights cut out. The electricity must be down. I feel a sense of fear build in my bones, but quickly get it under control. I draw the pistol on my hip and hold it in my hands ready. Suddenly the light come back on. The hologram of my daughter is gone and the door behind me is open.

"Hello, Snow." I hear that voice from behind me. That voice.

"You're dead."

"'fraid not." He replies as I turn to face him, keeping my pistol drawn as I walk towards my desk, where he sits with his sword drawn and his feet on my table. "It's nice to see you again, did you like the trick with your daughter?"

"This is impossible."

"No, this is improbable, but it's defiantly possible." Seth replies as he spins his sword in his hand, the sword that the Capitol made him. I'm glad that I executed Aleron after Seth's escape.

"How did you survive?"

"Wouldn't you love to know?" Seth replies as he pulls his mask off and places it over his knee. He hasn't aged a day... Ahh... So that's how they did it.

"They put you in coma and kept you young." Seth nods slowly as he balances his sword on the tip of his middle finger, pointing it to me. You would have thought he'd learn a sense of respect after what I did to him and his beloved.

"Very clever, but that's not why I'm here."

"Then why are you here?"

"To ask you a question, Snow." He replies as he rests the sword on his lap, brings his feet to the floor and rests his elbows on the table. "How would you like to be a Tribute?"

"I cannot be a Tribute, boy." I reply as I fire a single round into his head. The round passes straight through. The lights go off, and when they come back on he's gone. The light's turn back on and there's five of him, all on fire with their weapons and drawn and surrounding me, and all wearing their burning masks. "Is this all you have, Coin? Tricks of Victors long gone?"

"Long gone?" The holograms ask in unison. Suddenly I feel a tap of metal on my shoulder, my blood turns to ice as I spin round and spot one of the holograms holding a sword to me. The lights turn off, and when they come back on he's gone. "I'm afraid I'm not gone, and you still haven't answered my question."

"It's a fool's question." I reply as the lights turn back on. This time there's three holograms, one sits at the desk, the other two stand next to him in a uniform manner. "You believe I could ever be a Tribute?"

"No, I was wondering if you'd ever felt this feeling." The lights go off again, leaving me in complete darkness. The Phoenix's voice echoes through the room. "What it feels like to be trapped in an arena, what it feels like to be prey..."

"I'm only predator, I thought you would have learnt this by now."

"In every eco-system there are predators Snow, and they fight until an apex predator reveals it's self." The lights start flickering, the Phoenix teleports around the room as they flicker. I feel that sense of fear build in my bones again, why hasn't he made his move? Suddenly he appears in front of me. "And I'm the apex!"

"No!" I shout as I pull the trigger, the lights fall black and when they turn on he's gone. I spin around with the pistol drawn, looking for any sign of the Phoenix. The lights turn off, and when they come back on the blinds around the office are open, and bodies hang from ropes in the windows. Except for behind the desk, where a straight backed Phoenix stands on the ledge underneath an open window. I study the bodies, a mixture of my officials and peacekeepers hang from thick black ropes. "What is this meant to symbolise?"

"Isn't it's obvious?" The Phoenix asks as he cocks his head slightly, his mask staring at me like a dead man's face. "It's your hanging."

"What?" Suddenly there's a flash of light and he's gone, leaving the bodies hanging in the night sky. I run over to the window and stand on the ledge, staring out over the ledge. I watch in disbelief as the lights turn back on and my peacekeepers come running into the room from behind me.

"Sir?" One peacekeeper asks. I feel my blood boil, their failure to protect me shall not go unpunished.

* * *

**Seth's Point of View**

I sit in the cloaked hovercraft as it slowly rises into the air. This was by far the most dangerous mission that had taken place within the war so far. It seemed strange at first, my mission wasn't to assassinate Snow, in fact it was to make sure I didn't. What my mission was, was to force Snow's hand, strike him with a sense of fear that'll cloud his judgement. It was a long shot, but now Snow knows I'm alive, if we can force him to send peacekeepers to District 7, it will lighten the load on all of the other Districts.

I withdraw the small holo from my belt and hold it in the palm of my hand.

"Ma'am."

"Was the mission a success?" Coin asks in an impatient tone.

"Yes, ma'am. Can I..?" I let the last part trail out to see if she'll fill in the gap or pretend that she's forgotten our deal, because I sure haven't.

"You're coming back to District 13 now."

* * *

I stand in the one way mirror. Doctor's have said that they've filled Kate in on what's happened and why she's here, and that she took it rather well. What she didn't tall well was that I've become an assassin and that right at that time I was stringing people up on a roof. I watch as the doctor moves around her, she's changed in a set of my arena clothes, obviously too big for her and she has to wear a tight belt to keep the trousers from sliding down her waist.

"When can I see him?" She asks the doctor, just hearing her voice sends tingles down my spine. Then I hear footsteps to my side.

"She's awake, however, you still have to perform your contracts." Coin informs me, neither of us making eye contact. "You'll want a few days away from action."

"Only three ma'am."

"Three?"

"I promised Kate I'd bring her home." I let out a school-boy sigh as i watch her stand and demonstrate to the doctor that she can walk. "Only way I can do that is to be at war."

"It's settled then." Coin replies as she leaves the room. Allowing me to watch Kate prancing through the room with a frustrated expression. I move myself to the door to her room and wait outside, listening to her conversation.

"I'm walking, okay?" She practically shouts at the doctor. "Want me to run to? Give me a target and I'll..." The doors open as I step into the room and stand in the doorway. She stops for a moment and stares at me wide eyed. "Run..."

"Good morning, darling." I say with a small chuckle. Before I know it's she's thrown herself into my arms and I'm picking her up and spinning her around. We both laugh as we spin. When I finally put her down she rips my mask off and presses her lips against mine. The warmth of her skin spreads through my entire body, and as I wrap my arms around her waist I feel that fire building inside of me again. "I've missed you."

"It feels like years..." She chuckles as happy tears stream down her face and the two of us stand with our arms around each other, slowly rocking back and forth. "Well, it has been years."

"Are you okay with everything?" I ask, I remember how I felt when I was first told that I had missed eighteen years of history. She nods frantically, wiping the tears away and smiling as she does.

"They told me everything that has 'appened 'ere." She says to me with a small smile, but I can see the sadness in her eyes. I sway Kate to the right to allow the doctor through, after that display I think we can all say that Kate is feeling perfectly fine. "Including what you've been doing, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, even better now I have you back." I say with a small breaking across my lips as I press them against hers again. She runs her hand through my hair as our lips dance together, a dance that hasn't been performed in so long I had nearly forgotten what it feels like.

"You sure? The doctors told me you've been having a few... Problems..." She says as she leads me over to her bed, I sit next to her, wrapping my arm around her waist as he leans her head against my shoulder.

"I'll be fine, darling." I kiss her hair line and breath in her scent. It wasn't until now did I realise just how much I've missed her.

"You sure? I remember how bad you were nineteen years ago." Kate stops for a moment and shudders. "God do I feel old."

"You don't look it."

"You silver tongued bastard." She laughs and plants a kiss against my cheek. "I'm sorry, for not being here over the past year."

"I'm the sorry one, I had to make a deal with the President, it involved you." I sigh with a slight crack in my throat, the thought of having to use Kate as a bargaining chip makes me feel guiltier than any kill I have ever made has. Well, all except Callum's.

"What did you do?" Kate asked as she lifts herself from my chest and turns to me. I explain to her the deal I made with Coin, to keep her alive, and to bring her back to District 7. As I talk Kate nods along with my words, a small crease covering her brow as I get into the details om assassination missions. I deliberately leave out the part that I might have to assassinate the Mockingjay.

"I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for, babe." She whispers softly and presses her lips against mine. "I'm back with you."


	12. Kate

This is most likely the first time I have ever sat down in the messing hall and enjoyed it. My armour is off, I'm eating a set amount of food given to me by 13, and they've decided that while I'm on leave I have to follow a schedule. Which means I get my arm tattooed in the morning.

I wear my arena clothes but no mask, I didn't want to much attention drawn to the fact that the Phoenix and his girlfriend were sitting opposite each other and eating slowly as they spoke.

"You'll have to introduce me to this... Miles, he sounds quite fun." Kate says with a cheeky smile as she gulps down the cup of water. I laugh it off, she's been trying to get me to feel jealous since before we were together.

"As is William." I counter, watching her frown slightly.

"William? As in, William your hunting partner?" She asks with that questioning frown still across her face. I nod with a large grin as I place a small piece of, god knows what, meant into my mouth.

"He's a rebel leader in District Seven." I say with a large grin between my chewing. Kate nearly spits out her drink and drops the cup back on the table.

"William? Leading? What happened to him while we were gone?" Kate manages to giggle out as she wipes the bits of water that seeped from her lips from her mouth. She stops herself for a moment, as if the impact of her words had only just sunk in. "Yeah, I wonder what did happen to him while we were gone..."

"There was nothing we could do, darling." I whisper as I take her hands in mine. She gives me a sad smile in return and wraps her fingers through mine.

"I know, but now I understand how you feel." I tilt my head slightly to indicate the question. I think that's a trait I'll never loose. "When you feel guilty for not being there for someone, even if it was impossible."

"You'll never get used to it." I let my eyes drop to our hands and I rub small circles in Kate's palms. Images of Pope and Bryant start filling my mind, the sound of their screams as the fire engulfed them as they fought off the waves of peacekeepers, all for a District they had never even been to before. I can feel Kate's eyes on me.

"Who else did you lose?" She asks in a soft tone, I was never able to hide anything from her. I take in a deep breath and let out a long drawn sigh. This time she's the one stroking my hands.

"I had a team of five guys, we went into District Seven to clear out the guns." I can feel my voice cracking as I speak and feel my hands start to shake ever so slightly. "I ordered them into the watchtowers, then the watchtowers got hit, killing them both instantly."

"Oh, babe." Kate lifts our hands to her face and kisses them gently. "I'm so, so sorry."

"We all die eventually, darling." I mutter as the images of Claire, Hasta, Callum, and all the others that i have failed start to flash in front of me. I shake my head back and forth and look but up to Kate. "Anyway, I hear we have a meeting with Coin at ten."

"Aye that we do, babe, I don't know why she wants to see us."

"Officially make you a citizen?"

"Could be." Kate replies with a small smile, but I highly doubt it. Coin is far too much of a bitch to call us in for something so trivial.

"We've got half an hour, let's go grab my armour and we'll go see her."

* * *

"Phoenix, it's good to see you two happy together." Coin says with a fake smile plastered over her face.

"Okay, save me the bullshit, ma'am. Why do you want me and Kate?" I ask as I hold Kate's hand in my armoured one. Letting Coin see me without my armour would make me feel weak, and I can't afford to feel weak. Coin's smile vanished instantly.

"You're going into District Seven. Both of you." I let go of Kate's hand and march up to the desk, slamming my fists down against the metal.

"Don't you fucking dare think of putting her in danger." I can feel my blood boil as my shoulders raise up and down with my heavy breathes. "She's been awake for a day and you're already going to get her killed."

"We need soldiers who are experienced in the terrain of District Seven if we are to win." Coin retorts without emotion. I curse to myself, she's right after all, District 7 needs people who know how to navigate the land if they are to win. That's why the rebels during the Dark Days were so effective, the Capitol soldiers aren't able move through or use the forest like we could. "You agree?"

"Yes," I let out a long sigh and stand upright, "I agree, but can't we keep her away from the fighting?"

"Seth." Kate cuts in, wraps her fingers in my hand. "I can handle myself you know."

"I know you can, but I don't want you getting hurt."

"I won't get hurt. I've charged in before, and I can do it again."

"That's what scares me." I reply, she falls silent. This is the first time Kate has ever heard me admit that I'm afraid, and it's true. There's been hundreds of moments in my life when I've been scared, and I've never let it cloud my logic. Sending Kate to District 7 is the logical option, but this is the only time I will ever allow fear to control my actions. "If she has to go, I don't want her anywhere near the front-lines."

"Deal." Coin replies with a small hint of a victorious smile. Kate slaps my shoulder and spins me to face her.

"I want to fight, Seth! It's my home to!"

"I know that, darling." I reply with a long drawn sigh as i stroke her cheek. "But I've got a war to fight, and I don't want to be worrying about you. You saw what I was like when I had to defend Claire."

"I know, babe." Kate replies with a sad smile as she presses my hand to her face. " If I get chance though, I'm gonna fuck them up." I laugh at her enthusiasm, when he feels the fires of war it'll change.

"I wouldn't expect you to do anything else." I turn my attention back to Coin, but keep my body facing Kate. "We'll be taking our leave, when are we leaving for District Seven?"

"We'll see what is happening with out Mockingjay, and then I'll decide where you'll go." She replies, sliding a file over in front of her and scanning through.

"Ma'am, I can't keep being called back every time she gets sent out of the District." Coins attention changes from the file and towards me. "I think we should keep me in Seven, unless the Mockingjay is being sent into a combat zone."

"As much as I would like to disagree with you, you are right." She replies, resting her head in her palms. "You're actions in District Eight greatly helped, as have all your previous actions throughout this war. I'll send you to District Seven tomorrow, Kate will stay behind for two weeks to be trained and then she will be sent into intelligence analyst."

"You can teach her in two weeks?" I ask, trying to hide the feeling of regret as I hear that I'll be away from Kate for two weeks.

"Yes." Coin replies matter-of-factly. I seize my chance of a deal.

"If we are to do this then I want two more holos." I demand. Coin rolls her eyes in frustration.

"What for?"

"One for Kate and one for me. Kate can act as the intelligence analysts for my team, either that or we can use this holo and give Kate her own." I reply as I extend the holo I use to contact Adviser on. "Kate can serve as the... Our long-distance scout... For me and my team, where as Adviser can then work on situational updates."

"Agreed." Coin replies, causing me to smile ever so slightly. "You may take your leave."

"Ma'am." I reply, snapping a quick salute and going to turn away, stopping myself short, i turn back to Coin, who is staring at me in surprise.

"What's so shocking?" Kate asks with a raised eyebrow.

"You're dismissed, Lieutenant." Coin repeats as I turn back around and stroll from the room. The door shuts behind me and I feel Kate tap my shoulder.

"What was that about?" She asks in confusion, I laugh pathetically to myself for a moment.

"I think I'm becoming a soldier."

* * *

I lay on my bed with my armour off. This room has been my home for the past year, but it's nothing compared to my real home back in District 7. Kate drags the last of her belongings into my room and lets out a huff.

"Do I have to wear these? They feel like cardboard." She asks in disgust. I laugh for a moment as she picks up the grey uniform and sticks her tongue out at it.

"I didn't know you had a girly side." Kate pretends to scowl at me, but she soon starts giggling to herself as she moves to the side of my bed.

"I didn't know you had a personality." She replies with a cheeky smile. I chuckle quietly as I slide further down my bed and into the soft pillow, it feels good to lay on something that isn't metal or dirt. Then I hear that familiar noise that i haven't heard in years. "Yeah, baby, I still got it!"

"You've been awake for less than two days and you've got the violin already?" I ask in mild irritation, i was hoping to fall asleep while I had the chance. Kate laughs as she moves the bow of the violin with extreme precision over the strings, letting out a lovely melody.

"Of course." She shoots me a happy smile as she vibrates her fingers on the string. "I haven't played in nineteen years you know."

"Okay, I'll give you that one." The violin lets out a final hum, and then I hear the sound of wood on metal, followed by the feeling of Kate tucking herself under my arm. "Are you okay with all this?"

"All what?"

"Going to District Seven, I don't want you getting killed." Kate gives me a small smile and plants a soft kiss against my cheek.

"I'll be fine, you're the one who should be worried." Kate slides over so that she's lying on her chest, with her arms crossed in front of her and her chin resting on the forearms. "You're going on the front line after all."

"I'm suited for it."

"No you're not, no one is." She shoots back, I go to speak, but for once in a long time I can't find the words. She gives me a small smile. "I win, again."

"This time."

"Every time." Kate replies with a quick peck to my lips. "Face it, babe, I'm your weakness."

"It feels good to have a weakness." I give her a small wink and wrap my arms around her waist. Before I know what's happening she's moved her legs around my hips and pressed her lips against mine, cupping my face in her hands. "It feels bloody good to have a weakness."

"Shut up, and snog me." She whispers, I laugh for a moment and happily obey, pulling her in for a long deep kiss as i slide her top over her torso. "God I know it feels like only two days since I've seen you, but god do I want this."

"How'd you think I feel?" I ask with a cheeky smile as she slides my top off. I sit up and wrap my arms around her torso, moving my lips with hers as we enjoy our first time together in over a decade.

"Promise me something." She whispers as I move my kisses across her neck.

"Anything."

"Promise me that you'll come back." I stop for a moment and stare into her eyes. "Promise me you'll come back to me."

"I promise." I start kissing again, whispering as I slowly move up her neck and around her jaw. "And when this is all over, I'll marry you and we'll live together forever."

"Really?" Kate pulls away again and stares at me with longing eyes. "You promise that you'll come back and marry me?"

"I promise." A smile breaks across her face and she crashes into my lips. "Will you marry me, Kate?"

"Yes!" She practically screams, between the happy tears flowing down her face and the kisses. "Yes, Seth Greenlaw, I will marry you."


	13. Morals of War

"Maybe now isn't the time, but we have orders from Bird. We're being sent to the dam." Miles informs me as I slide down the ladder from my hovercraft. I turn my attention to him without saying a word. Leaving Kate was difficult, and I know I'll be seeing her in my dreams tonight. "Everything okay? I heard they woke Kate up."

"Yeah, I just miss her that's all." Missing someone seems so out of character to me. Then again; my personality seems to be ever changing the further into this war I dive. "What's this about a dam?"

"You know the dam down south?"

"The one that holds all of the water that stops the District flooding?" I ask with a hint of worry. That dam holds enough water to flood half of the District. Consider the geography of District 7, the rolling valleys where most of the settlements are either on top of mountains or in the the ditches, destroying the dam could flood all of the lower parts of the District and kill thousands of people.

"Yeah, Bird wants us to do some intel gathering so we can take it." I cross my arms over my chest. I'm glad Miles can't see my face under my armour, otherwise he'd realise how worried I am. "You don't seem too happy."

"That dam's bloody close to the Capitol, I'm not sure we could hold it." I mutter as I ponder on the location of the dam. "It's also heavily fortified, so taking it will be a bastard."

"That's why we're being sent in." I tilt my head slightly in confusion, but I can tell by Miles' face that he doesn't like what he's going to say next. "We're together intelligence for a virus we'll release into the dam, all our soldiers will be vaccinated, but the virus will incapacitate all the peacekeepers so we can just stroll in."

"Are you sure that will work? I mean, surely we could just do that to the Capitol." Miles shrugs in reply as we both walk to the front of the Justice Building.

"Aye it would, but the Capitol would just pump drugs into all it's citizens. If we can cut off the supply line, we could take the dam without a single death." I tilt my head in confusion again, this virus is going to cause some damage. As if he reads my mind, Miles answers my unsaid question. "The virus won't kill the peacekeepers, we're going to take them as prisoners of war."

"That's a lot of prisoners."

"You'll be surprised, there's an estimated number of one hundred peacekeepers at the dam, the rest of the personnel are workers that were captured." Miles taps my shoulder and gives me a small smile. "Some will escape, obviously, but hopefully we could trade the peacekeepers for supplies or intel. This could be a crucial part of the liberation."

"And if it goes wrong?"

"Then we're going to be outnumbered twenty five to one." Miles laughs to himself for a moment. "Sounds fun, ai?"

"Sounds like suicide." I reply with a small chuckle, but I'm starting to see the positives of this plan. Low number of deaths, high number of rewards, I'm willing to take the risk. "But we can do it."

"Of course we can, we've got the Phoenix!" Miles exclaims happily. "Now, there was an old man looking for you, he called himself the Butcher."

"Ahh I know him, where is he?" I ask with a hint of cheer in my voice.

"In the Butcher's I guess, he's been helping with the rations."

"Thanks, I'll head off to him now." I exchange my farewells with Miles and start jogging down past the many soldiers, rebels, and vehicles and slide into the Butcher's without a word. Even after all this time, the shop still looks the same, apart from the rations that have been thrown all over the shop.

"Ah! My dear boy! It's good to see you again!" The old-man with his brush moustache calls from behind the counter. I walk over to one of the many stools and sit in my old place, where I always conducted business with the Butcher. "How have you been coping?"

"Better than most, yourself?"

"Fine, young boy, just fine." She cuts through a piece of meat with expert speeds. I peak my head over the counter to catch a quick glance.

"Venison?"

"Finest cuts in the wilds." The Butcher replies with a happy grin as he slides the knife through the meat, cutting it in two. "Nothing as good as what you used to catch me, of course."

"These soldier's wouldn't know how to hunt a deer, they're far too closed minded."

"Ahh yes, that's why we get our venison from the farmers up north." The Butcher replies as he hacks through the meat, cutting it into small chunks.

"There are deer farmers up north?"

"A fair few, they breed the animals and then kill them when they reach a good enough age." He then uses his knife to push the chunks of deer into a large tin bucket that lies on the floor in a pool of blood. "Times have changed, Phoenix."

"I know, I'm a soldier now."

"It suits you, boy." The Butcher replies with a happy smile. I tilt my head slightly in confusion. "What? You don't believe so?"

"I was never good with orders."

"You seem to deal fine with them now, don't think I haven't been keeping my eye on you." He says with a signature old-man wink that causes me to chuckle. I have to admit, the Butcher is a great man. "After all, you are the Phoenix."

"As everyone enjoys reminding me."

"Don't knock it, you've done more for this District than anyone else ever has." I shake my head back and forth at his comment, I've also brought it far more pain than anyone else would believe. "Don't believe me?"

"It's a nice sentiment, but we both know I've done nothing but burn this District."

"You brought it freedom, young man." The Butcher shoots back, slamming his cleaver into the counter. I hold his gaze, trying not to faulter at how strongly this man believes in me. "You," he points to me, "are one of the greatest products of this District."

"I'm a murderer, an assassin."

"You're a killing, that there is no doubt." He leans on his elbows and smiles so slightly to me. "But you are a survivor, a rebel, a soldier, a hero, and a damn good friend to everyone in this entire god forsaken District!"

I stare at him in shock for a moment, no one has ever spoken of me like this before. "You mean it?"

"I mean every word." His smiles grows on his face, causing the corners of his moustache to pick up slightly. "You may not see it, Seth, but there is no one in this world who is more concerned about doing the right thing than you."

"Thank you, Butcher." I reply with a small smile hidden under my mask. I've always seen myself as nothing more than a survivor, a machine built to stand the test of time, but it seems the people of District 7 see me as far more than a machine. They see me as human.

* * *

I step into the Justice Building. Bird stands ahead of me, leaning over her large holographic table. I walk to her side and watch the video that projects from the table. There is out Mockingjay, shouting a vow to Snow that we will all burn together, which sends chills down my spine.

"Surprisingly similar to what you would say, isn't that right, lieutenant?" Bird asks as she slides the video back down into the table and brings up the projection of the large dam. Fair play, it's bloody huge, I heard it's a hundred foot tall, and the large lake behind it is even deeper. I observe the many pipes coming from the bottom, these spread out through the whole District to make the rivers that run through the District, allowing the plants to have more water in case of a low amount of rainfall.

"I wouldn't want to remind myself of fire." I retort as Bird turns to me, resting her hips against the holo table and leaning back ever so slightly with her lips slightly parted. Is she trying to seduce me? Judging by the look on her face I'd say she'd be up for a shag at the word go! I knew she had an attraction to me, but not like this.

"But you seem to cover yourself in it whenever you get the chance?" She asks with a raised eyebrow. I can't help but feel slightly uncomfortable in Bird's presence, if Kate was here she'd probably attack Bird on sight.

"It's symbolic more than anything." I retort, quickly trying to change the subject to the actual reason that I'm here. "What's the plan with taking the dam?"

"Pretty simple." Bird replies, as she stands, turns back around and begins showing me a holographic projection of my team being dropped off outside of the dam. "You get dropped in by hovercraft, you'll infiltrate the dam, find the ventilation system, and then release the virus."

"What will the virus do exactly?" I ask with a slight hint of worry. Miles thinks that we'll be fine by using it, and that no one will die, but I can see things going very differently.

"In effect, give everyone the flu." Bird replies as she slides the image on the table, where a large orange canister takes it's place. "It's not that big don't worry, it should clip happily into your belt loops at the base of your spine."

"I'm going to be carrying a biological weapon on my arse?" I ask in a sarcastic tone. Although I am impressed with my use of larger and larger words recently. Bird chuckles at my comment.

"Something along those lines." She replies. "You'll want to go get vaccinated, I'll get Sergeant Miles to lead you to the medic's tent."

* * *

I feel the needle slide into my arm and a heavy sensation build as the medic presses the syringe. I groan as I watch the liquid slide away and into my body.

"That wasn't too bad, was it?" The medic asks with a fake smile as he pulls the needle from my arm. I cringe and groan as the feeling starts sliding down to my fingers, making me feel like part of my body is drunk. "You may suffer from some mild symptoms tomorrow, you don't need to worry, these are perfectly normal."

"What symptoms?"

"You're limbs will feel heavy, you'll feel sick, headaches, all the basics of having a very shit day." The medic replies with a cheery smile, which I can't help but return as he hands me back my mask. "You're medical proves your fine, in case you're wondering."

"Going back to the symptoms, how serious are these?"

"What you'll suffer? Not that-"

"I mean the actual virus." I interrupt.

"Well, it's a quick acting virus. Most viruses take time to hit the immune system, but this one was designed to cause instant damage." I know he's right, I can already feel my head start to ache and my bones to feel heavier, and I'm... Sweating? "Judging by how the vaccines have been going, this virus is extremely dangerous to anyone who doesn't have a strong immune system."

"So how easy could this kill?" I ask as I rub my temples, the pain is proving a massive distraction.

"Very easily. Dehydration, lack of minerals, nutrients, all of these are brought on by the virus." I frown slightly at his comment, I thought we were incapacitating the dam? We were trying to limit civilian casualties after all.

"And this hits you all in one go?" I ask as I feel the sweat start to drip down my head. The medic frowns slightly, and gently lays me down on the bed that I have been sitting on. "Fuck I can feel it."

"Well imagine the full thing hitting you." He replies as he adjusts a pillow from under my head. "I'd recommend we sedate you, at least until you've recovered." I groan as the thought of being pull into a state of permanent sleep plagues my mind. I don't want to miss another eighteen years.

"Will it help?"

"Most definitely, we'll keep you fuelled up, don't worry."

"How long will I be out?"

"As long as it takes." The medic replies as he takes another needle from his small green plastic box. I groan with discomfort as the small piece of metal slides into my arm and the liquid starts filling my body. "Just rest, we'll take care of everything else."

"I... Need to speak.. To... Colonel Bird when I wake..." I manage to slur out as my eyelids become as heavy as lead weights. My eyelids slide down my face and before I know it, I'm captured by a nightmare, and this one I can't escape from.


	14. Is Evil Justifiable?

_I stand amongst the burning ruins, allowing the heat to flow from the flames are tickle my skin. I'm standing in my arena gear, my weapons drawn and bloody, with corpses of everyone who entered that arena surrounding me, all except Ludo. I would have though that he'd have left my nightmares by now._

_I walk through the burning doors and follow the path surrounded in dancing flames and ignited lizards, all leading me towards a fight that I know will change my life forever._

_I step out onto the edge, where the long rope with the small machine hangs to drag me over the massive drop below me, and onto the spire in the centre of the arena, where the Cornucopia stands ready for me._

_I place my hand in the machine and get forced along the rope and whip speed, before I finally crash into the post on top of the spire and land with a thud. I stand up straight and stare defiantly at the suit of amour walking towards me, his two swords ready in each hand._

_"Here we are again, I thought you said you were done with me." Ludo says with a small bow as he crosses his legs and spreads his arms, making himself look like the cocky twat he was before I decapitated him. He straightens back up. "Have you witnessed a pattern yet?"_

_"I've noticed we don't seem to fight when I'm not having a good day." I reply as I place my weapons back in their sheathes, we won't end up killing each other today. "It's been nineteen years since I spoke to you, admittedly I was in coma for eighteen of them."_

_"Ahh... That's where you are wrong, it's only been a year since we saw each other last." Ludo replies, ripping his helmet from off his head and throwing it onto the floor. Now I have to deal with that arrogant smile he always wore so well. "See, I've spent longer with you than anyone else."_

_"How'd you work that out?" I ask in confusion. Suddenly it hits me like a train. "I was trapped here with you, wasn't I?"_

_"I remember the eighteen years well, you may not, but I do." Ludo replies as he stands next to me. We both turn to watch the ruins burning, and all the other Tributes along with the building. "We did nothing but fight. That was until a hovercraft came and took you away."_

_"Took me away? I'm assuming you mean i woke up."_

_"You dreamt of it as a hovercraft, your salvation, if you will." Dreams are always full of symbolism, and I can only assume that the hovercraft was meant to have the same effect as the one that took me from District 7 and to District 13. "It was rather impressive to observe."_

_"Much like our fight in the arena."_

_"They will sing of that for years to come."_

_" I'm 'fraid not." I reply with a small sigh. Ludo turns to me with a small frown. "The Districts forgot about the 55th Hunger Games, it inspired too much and got a lot of people killed."_

_"That wasn't the Games, that was you."Ludo replies with a menacing growl. "You got those people killed."_

_"I didn't mean to."_

_"You got Callum killed!"_

_"It was an accident i swear." I practically plead, but Ludo remains relentless._

_"Hasta! Kate!"_

_"Stop it."_

_"And now you're going to kill everyone in that dam? And you called me evil!"_

_"Enough!" I scream and draw my sword, stabbing it through Ludo's heart. He falls to his knees as the blood pours from his mouth, but I cherish the sight. I rip my sword from his chest and kneel on one knee, gripping his neck with a powerful hand. "At least you can justify my evil."_

_"I bet Snow said the same thing." Ludo replies, spitting on my mask, causing his blood to cover my glasses. "Since when was any evil justifiable?"_

_I fall silent and watch as his head falls and the life parts from his body. Rage fills my system and I throw Ludo's body over the edge of the spire, allowing it to fall into the raging fires below. Suddenly a light shrouds me from overhead. I look up and spot a hovercraft, with President Snow in the back, with my rifle. He holds it from the hip and aims it at me with an evil grin._

_"Face it, Assassin, you succeed because at your core, you are broken." He pulls the trigger and I feel the round break through my armour and embed itself in my chest. I collapse to one knee, a burning sensation builds in my chest as I struggle to get oxygen around my body._

_"I've always been made from broken parts." I reply with a menacing grin as I rip my mask off my head and throw it to the ground. I stare straight into Snow's eyes, a sense of defiance filling my body. "I've never been fixed."_

_"And you never will, it's a shame you'll die with that one question plaguing your mind."_

_"What is that?"_

_"Is evil justifiable?" And with that a shot rings from the arena and the round bursts through my skull._

* * *

I awake with a scream as I grasp the sides of the bed that I'm lying on and pant heavily. I groan for a moment as I swing my legs over the edge and allow my head to drop into my palms, which are resting on my knees. Suddenly a funnel of light fills the tent I'm lying in, and when I look up I spot the medic staring at me.

"Am I free to go?" I manage to ask as I struggle to make it to my feet. Silently, the medic comes to my side and checks me over.

"You're free to go, the virus is gone, but whatever was in your head while you were out isn't." The medic replies with a worried expression as he taps his head several times. "You were tossing and turning all night."

"I'm fine."

"Ha! I'll believe that when I see it." The medic replies and walks out of the tent. I let out a long sigh and slide back into my armour, sliding my mask over my head before I feel anymore insecure than I am already.

I step out of the tent, the morning sun as red as the fire in my dreams. I glance around the village, it's early I'll admit, but there are normally more soldiers than this. I decide to take a quick walk around the back of the Justice Building, where I know a certain sergeant is camped.

"Get up." I order as I unzip the door on his dull grey tent. Miles groans as his eyes flicker open.

"At least my headaches gone." He mumbles as he sits upright in his sleeping bag, struggling to get back to reality. He rubs his eyes and yawns, god he's bad at this getting up business.

"Where is everyone?" I ask, not even giving him chance to get his bearings.

"Ill, they all had their jabs about six. Bird wanted everyone to at least be able to guard the gates by night time."

"Is the whole District getting this vaccine?"

"Yep. Which fucking sucks, why can't we just blow up the dam?" He asks in exhaustion as he slides out of his sleeping bag and begins getting dressed. I turn away at that moment and face the wall, giving him the privacy he deserves.

"Because then we'd flood half the District."

"We'd kill all the peacekeepers."

"And half the District." I remind him as I listen to him struggle to dress himself in a tent.

"Fine, we'll give them all armbands and then flood the District." I can't help but laugh for a moment at the comment. Then he steps out of his tent, takes in a deep breath and exhales the same. "Right, cook house?"

"Cook house." I confirm and the two of us make our way towards the Butchers, where most people have been grabbing their rations from.

We both step into the Butchers, and to our surprise find a half sleeping young woman across the counter, with her face crunched up on the side of her hand. I step up to the counter and tap the small bell at the corner of the desk. The sounds causes her to shoot vertical and her head to dart around the room like a startled rabbit.

"Welcome to the Butcher... How can I... Feed you?" She looks to me with sleepy eyes. I don't think anyone has had a nice night.

"Here for our rations?" I say, but it comes out as more of a question considering the state she's in. She looks down to the side, stares for a few seconds, then withdraws two brown boxes, and hands one to both me and Miles. "Where's the Butcher?"

"He got vaccinated, now he's fallen asleep on the toilet." The woman replies, causing me to chuckle for a moment. She slides her long brunette hair back behind her ear. "So I'm his replacement until he gets better, Soldier Harding, head of standing around with my thumb up me backside."

"Hell of a title." Miles adds with a small smile. Harding smiles back, but I can tell it's forced, she really does hate it here.

"I'd prefer to be on the front lines, handing out rations is boring, have you checked what you've got by the way?" She asks curiously as I open the small brown box and withdraw some of it's contents; grain, a small silver bag with a mixture of food inside, small snacks. Normally, District 13 dishes out the food depending on size, weight, and many other factors, but in the middle of a war zone that's practically impossible.

"Venison." I say with a small grin, it's one of my favourite meats after all.

"Same here, I suppose it's better than the processed crap we get back home." Miles says cheerily as gives me a happy nod. "To the cook house?"

"Cook house." I confirm once again, we both give a quick wave to Harding and slide from the Butcher's, turning down the small slope and headed towards the large grey tent filled with tables.

We both sit at the nearest table and rummage through the small boxes, clicking the small devices on the silver bags to instantly heat them. I tear the top open, rip my mask from my head, pick up the small plastic spoon, and begin eating the venison stew boiling in my hand.

"This is gorgeous." Miles grumbles through a mouth full of food. I eat silently, allowing the dream from last night to seep my memory, I can feel the question corrupting my very nature once again: Is evil justifiable? "Something bothering you?"

"The virus we're releasing," I begin as I resume eating, "it's going to kill most of the people in the dam."

"I had my suspicions." Miles replies, I can tell by his face that he's worked out the power in this virus. "You don't think we should use it?"

"I'm on the fence." I reply. On one hand, I can claim the dam and force the Capitol to send more peacekeepers to District 7, thus making the war far easier on the other Districts. Yet on the other hand, if i don't release it I wouldn't have killed god knows how many of my own people, even though it means we won't have as strong a tactical position.

"I know what you're thinking."

"What's your view?"

"We should release the virus." Miles replies. It doesn't surprise me, District 13 think of practicality over morality, President Coin is the perfect example of that. "It's either the lives of some of District 7, or the lives of all of Panem."

"I know, but it just feels wrong."

"It's war, when is it ever right?" Miles retorts as he shovels another spoon full of venison into his mouth. "We're all just murderers."

"Is that how you see us?" I ask in a calm tone. I'm not angry, because I know that deep down he's right.

"It's how I see myself." Miles replies as he places down the small silver bag and withdraws a small chocolate biscuit from in the box. "It's all for the greater good after all."

"I bet Snow thinks the same."

"Snow's doing it for power, we're doing it for freedom." Miles replies as he munches down on the biscuit.

"If we're doing the same as him, what makes us so much better?" Miles stops at my comment for a moment, pondering the question I have presented him.

"Not much really, I suppose that we're all the same really." Miles eats the last part of his biscuit and rests his chin on his fist, contemplating the philosophical question that I've just thrown at him. "I mean, the peacekeepers are basically soldiers, just on the other side." He takes a moment to think. "I guess that the difference is why you fight, I fight to bring down a tyrant. Snow fights to keep himself in power. So, even though we are doing the same thing, our motives are what define us."

"That was a hell of answer."

"You're not the first soldier to wonder if they're on the right side." Miles replies with a sad smile, it seems he's not as black and white as I once thought. "Now, come on Lieutenant, we've got a colonel to visit."


	15. Soldier's Hold Land

"You knew?" I ask in disgust. Bird shrugs the comment off as she throws me the large see through cylinder, filled with orange liquid.

"Of course I knew, why wouldn't I?" She asks innocently as I catch the cylinder, I look down and examine it, with it's strange leather straps attached to the clear plastic cylinder around the cylinder containing the virus. God they don't want this one getting out. I quickly glance to Miles, who shoots me a concerned look.

"Then you lied."

"Would you have released it if you knew?" She asks with a raised eyebrow, I feel my blood boiling as see her cocky smile cover her face. I understand why she acts flirty now, it seems that, judging by the glances she's receiving from all the rebel men, she acts as some sort of siren; shame that doesn't work on me.

"Depends." I reply as I cross my arms over my chest. "If you had told me, I could have come up with another plan, even if it goes over your head."

"You think this plan was mine?" Bird asks with a small laugh as he points to herself. "This plan was the president's, I'm just the messenger."

"Bollocks, Coin's ruthless, but she's not this bad." I try to argue back, but in my heart I can see this being true.

"Well, I lied slightly," oh I may have been on to something, "President Coin wanted to incapacitate them, I wanted to kill them."

"You bitch!" I growl as I clench my fists and go in for the swing, suddenly my arms are behind my and I hear Miles whispering something to me. "I'll kill you!" I scream at her as I struggle to break out of his grasp.

"It's not worth it, let it go." Miles repeats as I struggle to fight against the lock he has put me in, bloody hell I didn't realise he was this strong.

"I'm gonna stab the bitch, let me go!" I roar as I start kicking towards the laughing Colonel.

"Threatening a superior officer, Lieutenant? I could have you thrown in prison." She replies with a cheeky grin, which just makes me feel even more pissed off.

"I'm not a member of your fucked up officers club!?" I shout back, desperately trying to reach the tomahawk on my back, but miles is holding me in too strong a lock. Bird raises an eyebrow to me, she actual thinks I'm one of comrades. "If I anything I'm a soldier, I'm a rebel, just like the rest of the people you and President Coin are willing to walk all over!"

"Let it go, brother, it'll only get worse." Miles whispers again, but I am unrelenting.

"I don't give a shit if you think your rank will protect you!" I scream at her, but Bird stares at me undaunted.

"You're just a soldier, all you do is hold land." She replies with a evil grin. "Go do your job, before I get all those deals you made with President Coin ripped up in front of your face."

My anger instantly dies down at the comment. Most people make empty threats, a bit like holding an empty gun to a person's head, but I know this gun is loaded, and the woman wielding it is trigger happy.

"Don't think that I won't do it." Bird threatens with a slow shake of her head. Miles slowly releases me as I straighten up and stand defiantly in front of Bird. "You either do this, or we blow the dam and flood the District. I'd prefer not to do that as it damages the production of the District, but we need that dam."

"Are those my only two choices?" I ask as the depression starts to seep into my mind. How I wish I was still old Seth, the cold-hearted killer who never felt guilt.

"Those are you only two choices, either way people are going to die."

"I'll take the dam, I'll release the virus." I mutter as I let my head drop, I've been beaten.

"Good, you're dismissed." Bird replies, I give a quick salute (I really am a soldier it seems) and walk out of the Justice Building with dropped shoulders and a low head. I walk slowly out into the morning sun, looking up to the deep orange sky.

"Seth!" Miles calls from behind me. I stop for a moment and slowly turn to face Miles, who is standing on the stage with a expression of guilt smacked over his face. "Come on, my man, don't walk off like this."

"You called me brother." I observe with a small smile under my mask. "It's been nearly twenty years since I've been called brother." Flashbacks of Callum fill my vision. The mask doesn't hide everything.

"You are my brother." Miles says with a smile, letting his hands drop to his side. "We're moving this evening, I'll get the men sorted, go home."

"Home?"

"Home." Miles looks over in the direction of the Victor's Village. "Go home, clear your head, come back at nineteen hundred, I'll have everything sorted." I unclip the virus from my belt and throw to Miles who, thankfully, catches it.

"I'll be back at eighteen hundred, get the men prepped for a hovercraft pick-up."

* * *

I hear the door creak as I slowly open my house, listening to the floor squeal as I slowly place my foot against the deep dark floor. Surprisingly, there's no dust lining the floor which I expected it to be.

I smile for a moment, taking in the view of my house, nearly unchanged since I left it all those years ago. I close the door behind my and walk straight into the dining area, the chairs still haven't moved from where I left them.

A thought fills my mind, which makes my stomach turn. I open the fridge but find it empty, I open the cupboards and find them empty, has the house been cleared? Does that mean so has my room?

I jog up the stairs and enter my old bedroom, how many nights did I wake up screaming in this room? With only Kate to calm me down. I look over to the cupboard, and above it rests Ludo's helmet, staring at the room like some kind of evil gargoyle. I walk in front of the helmet and stare up to it.

"I've seen you more in my head, than I've seen you in reality." I comment with a sarcastic chuckle. The helmet does nothing, of course, just stares with the dead expression that it's wearer obviously holds right now.

I sigh and look back to the bed, that should have been Claire's bed. Another flashback strikes me again.

* * *

_I stand in the clearing, far into the forest. In the edge of the clearing grows a large oak tree, it hasn't had the best of reputations considering what we use it for._

_Callum and Blight stand either side of me, both us watching as Claire's family bringing the flaming torch to the pyre that her body rests upon. Her father places the flame against the wood, and watch as it catches and spreads though the wood at high speed. This is our tradition in District 7, we cremate the person who dies._

_Her family take a step back and watch as the heat erupts onto the white bandages that encase Claire's corpse. I turn to my head to Callum, and watch as the tears roll down his cheeks. I turn to head to Blight, and watch the single tear roll from his eye. I then turn my attention to Claire's family, of which Kate stands among them, all crying; and then here I stand, without feeling._

_Only in my flashbacks am I able to really to add the benefit of hindsight. This was the moment that really turned me from old Seth into present day Seth._

_"You never shed a tear, do you?" Blight asks, not turning his face to the masked assassin that stands beside him._

_"It show weakness."_

_"It shows you're human."_

* * *

back up to the helmet, feeling my resolve crack as I rip the mask from my face and throw it to the side. My knees give way beneath my and I fall onto all fours, tears pouring from my face as I wail in pain. I'm broken, again, my cracks have become breaks.

I lean back and cry to the ceiling, allowing the tears to slide down my cheeks and fall onto my armour. I'm done, I'm broken. I stand and slam my fists against the counter. Ludo's helmet fall and lands in front of me, is there something in it?

I place my hand in the helmet, and withdraw a small disk from the metal case. What can this be?

I run down the stairs and to the television downstairs, placing the disk in the player beneath. I'm amazed the Capitol is still pumping electricity into the Victor's Village. What I see on the screen completely shocks me.

"'Ello Mummy." Blight says with a happy smile. He's older, much older, equipped with a full on beard and everything. I smile at the sight of my late friend, sitting happily against his chair. "I know you survived, District 13 had the descentsy to tell me that part. If you're watching this video without me, means I bought the bullet. Bit the dust. Shuffled off my mortal coil."

"Don't worry I'll join you soon." I reply with a sarcastic smile, even though I know he can't hear me. How I miss my old friend.

"If that is the case then all I wanted to do was... Speak to you... Not as the Phoenix but as a human being." I can read the pain on his face as he speaks into the camera. "We have a new symbol, our Mockingjay, basically a female version of you."

"Don't I know it."

"The girl's young, younger than you when you started your crusade-"

"Oi, Blight, get your ass moving! I want to go!" I hear from the camera. Blight laughs for a moment.

"I'll be there soon, Johanna." He calls, turning his attention back to the camera. "Yeah, baby Johanna is all grown up. Now back to business; the girl's going to need help, Seth. I know you were nothing more than an assassin, but her and that Peeta Mellark lad are going to need you, you're the only person who's ever had anything like this happen to them."

"I wish you were here to help."

"Help them, Seth. Keep them both alive." He smiles to the camera for a moment. "They're just like Callum and Claire, they just don't know it yet. They put of this act that they love each other but I can tell it's fake, what they don't realise is that it's not an act for either of them."

Blight laughs to himself for the moment, shaking his head back and forth. "Go save our symbol, go save our District."

"Blight!"

"I'm coming!" Blight shouts back with a sad smile on his face as he turns back to the camera. "Go take our home back, Mummy."

And with that, the screen goes black, and I'm left staring at a blank screen. I take a moment to absorb the information, looks like I wasn't the only one who thought something was... Off... About Katniss Everdeen's heart strings. I lay back on the chair that I'm sitting on, taking in a deep breath as I picture how I'm going to reunite the Mockingjay with her true love.

* * *

"So how's this going down 'en, boss?" O'Brian asks with a happy smile, as he quickly checks his sub-machine gun. I laugh as I stand before my, far smaller, team.

"We get dropped off in the dam, sneak in, planet the virus, watch it consume the dam." I reply in my old and cold tone. I have a plan, and I'll make sure this plan goes through even if it kills me. Miles shoots me a concerned look. "I have the plan laid out in my head, all you have to do is follow me and don't get shot."

"Don't get shot?" Heath questions as he looks down to his assault rifle.

"Can i talk to you for a moment?" Miles asks, pulling me to the side. We both watch as the sun half sets over the horizon. "What the hell is up with you? Where's the morals?"

"We've got a bigger tree to cut." I reply, making small little bird hand signs with my hands. Miles raises an eyebrow.

"The Mockingjay? What does this have to do with the Mockingjay?"

"Mockingjay is under control of Coin, I'm under control of Coin."

"What are you saying?" Miles asks with a worried expression.

"What I'm saying, is Coin has always wanted me to be the perfect soldier, and in return I have her trust. So we're going to give it to her."

"You're going to be the perfect soldier."

"Oh no." I reply with a slightly evil laugh. "I'm going to be her assassin."

"You already are, Seth." Miles replies with a slow and steady nod, he thinks I've gone nuts.

"I get sent on these missions, I need to earn Coin's trust." I reply as I watch the sky turn blood red.

"And then what?" Miles asks, I can see his face going slightly pale, looks like I scare even the bravest of men.

"Then, when she asks me to kill our Mockingjay." I look up to the sky and laugh to myself. "I'm going to save her."


	16. Battle of the Damned

I stare at the dam in disbelief. I'd seen the holograms but this thing is absolutely fucking massive.

"That's a big task for four men." Heath whispers in wonder as the four of us lay in the bushes and stare at the massive dam. I honestly can not tell how large it is by using just my eyes.

"Stay focused," I order as I quickly check the virus on my arse, "we're going to take the dam."

"Oh of course we are, want us to assassinate the President as well?" O'Brian asks with a roll of his eyes and a cocky smile, I turn back to O'Brian as I stand and walk backwards into the treeline.

"Eventually." I reply with a satisfied grin, leaving a completely dumb-found team behind me.

It doesn't take long for the men to catch up, and by the time they realised that I've begun the fight I managed to wipe out the seven peacekeepers in the road block on the top edge of the dam.

"Shit, boss." O'Brian mutters as I sprint towards the road block, leaping over the concrete blocks on the road and scanning the area for more targets.

"Move the corpses." I order, I'm glad I've got soldiers with strong stomachs, because they seem to have no problems with moving the blood ridden corpses into a pile behind the concrete.

"Where next, Phoenix." Miles asks as he jogs to my side. I turn to him with a small tilt of my head. Miles laughs for a moment. "Yes, I am wearing a balaclava."

"Under your helmet?"

"Under all my kevlar armour, yes we have all starting wearing balaclavas." Miles replies, how I hadn't noticed earlier I will never tell.

"Why?"

"You wear a mask, why can't we?" Miles asks with a small chuckle. I roll my eyes and motion for everyone to follow.

I jog to a doorway, opening the door and making my way down the staircase with my rifle loaded and at the ready. I give the signal for everyone to switch to the radio's in their helmets.

"You know where to go?" Miles asks as he moves behind me, his rifle lifted to his shoulder.

"Aye." Is all I reply with. After reading Blight's message I had my little epiphany, and as such I learnt all routes to and from the ventilation system, meaning I know how to get to and escape from this dam at a moments notice. The same tactic is used by rabbits, every rabbit knows it's escape route like back of it's hand... Paw.. .

We move quickly and efficiently through the poorly lit, claustrophobic corridors. Each time a peacekeeper walks around a corner I put him down, my kill count is going through the roof, and I've lost count on how many people that I've killed. It's a sickening feeling, knowing you've ended the lives of so many people that you have forgotten.

We all stop for a moment, a few paces away from the command centre of the dam.

"Listen, I don't care, you've failed protecting Snow, and you won't fail protecting this dam." I hear from behind closed doors. I order my men into the shadows as I slowly move towards the door, poking my head around the corner. I observe four peacekeepers, stood at attention with their helmets to their sides, being shouted at by a far older man.

"We can't-"

"Silence!" The older peacekeeper cuts off the leader of the four man team. I stare in confusion, what does this guy mean that they failed to protect Snow? Suddenly the realisation hits me.

* * *

_I slide the holo through the small gap in the window, allowing it to rest in the centre of the elevator. Pressing a few buttons on my holo activates it, causing a projection of the very fine looking Miss Snow to appear. I allow the doors of the elevator to open as I move along the roof, observing with my holo what the other holo is recording._

_A group of four peacekeepers, each with silver armour with black lines on the helmets and down their shoulders, stand outside of the main room._

_The peacekeeper with a single silver star on his helmet opens the door for the hologram, moving just a head of it. This is my chance to infiltrate Snow's office._

* * *

"Sir, we can-"

"You let an assassin into the President's office, he punishes you by sending you hear, now all of a sudden I'm getting reports of men with the exact same wounds as the corpses that were strung from the windows of the office!" The peacekeeper screams, I do a quick scan of the room, attacking them like this isn't worth it. If I kill their Commanding Officer they're all going to converge on my spot. "You are meant to be guardsman! You're all worthless!"

"Sir, let us go find the assassin, we can find him." The peacekeeper with a star on his helmet says, I can't see his face so I have no idea what he looks like. Their commanding officer waits for a moment, pondering his course of action.

"Go find him, if you fail you'll be put to the firing squad, understood?"

"Yes, sir." They all reply in unison, slamming their helmets onto their heads in unison. Star (the nickname I'm giving to the squads leader) salutes his commanding officer and makes his way towards the door.

I dive into the shadows and stand motionless, as the four silver plated peacekeepers jog straight past the entire team. I suppose we are well camouflaged, unlike the silver saucepans of death running the complete wrong way.

I motion for the team to jog alongside me. We all move silently through the dam, jogging past the rooms full of neglected citizens of District 7, how many of them will die by my hand tonight?

It doesn't take long before we reach the ventilation system, a massive machine that pumps air through a huge filter and through the pipes of the Dam. I unclip the virus from above my arse.

"How we getting this in?" Miles asks with a confused expression covering the parts of his face that I can see, the balaclava is proving quite a pain in the arse. I chuckle for a moment, and fire a single round into the massive pump. The sound of gushing air and sirens fills the room. I then throw the virus to the floor and shoot it, allowing the orange liquid to turn to gas and fly into the room, disappearing before my very eyes.

"How long we got, boss?" O'Brian asks with a worried expression. I point for the men to hide behind the many pipes, and all aim at the door. We'll have to make our stand here. I jump in beside my team, four guns all pointed at the doorway as we wait for the slaughter that it to come.

* * *

We wait in silence. My heart pounds with a steady rhythm in my ears as I feel my finger itching to pull that trigger. This is the feeling that builds when I'm waiting for a fight, the same feeling when I'm waiting for perfect moment to stroke down my prey.

"We got incoming." Heath mutter through the radio. Suddenly the round are flying over my head and group of peacekeepers are advancing towards us, holding a set of rather large movable shields.

We all open fire, the order didn't have to be given. The rounds either embed themselves in the shields, or break through and kill the peacekeepers behind them. Yet even with the pile of bodies building in the door way, the peacekeepers are still willing to charge our position.

I continue firing, but after expending shit tonnes of rounds, leaving me with only one magazine left, I'm starting to worry that I'm going to run out of ammunition.

I give a concerning look to Miles, but as I look back I feel the sting of a round penetrating my armour and crashing into my body. I scream in pain as I feel the heat spread from the wound in my chest.

My breathes become shorter and sharper as I feel my shoulders being lifted from the ground by someone, but my vision is too blurred to make out who. In fact, I'm not even sure if the pain is coming from the left or right side of the chest, judging on my condition I can only assume it was the right.

Suddenly my seated upright, with the rounds flying past my head and into the vent behind me. Miles quickly scans me, checking my pulse and moving equipment, he's shouting but I honestly can't hear a damn thing, all my attention is focused on the pain

The Miles hands me a small weapon, I've seen one before, a pistol he called it. Miles points towards the enemies behind me, I know what he wants em to do. Even in my condition, I must keep fighting.

I turn my body so that I just see around the pipe I'm leaning against, my vision is blurring and I know that the only use I am at the moment is just as a wall of bullets, hopefully my relentless firing will slow the peacekeepers, but suddenly the feeling of rounds flying towards me stops.

I allow my arm to drop and for me to blink a few time, allowing the vision to clear up that tiny bit that I needed. The peacekeepers aren't dead, but they're in some serious shit, I can see them all lying on the floor groaning loudly. The virus has taken it's toll it seems.

Then I feel two shoulder underneath me, and suddenly I'm being carried with my arms around Miles and Heath's necks. A shot of pain flows through my as Heath takes a small piece of cloth, wraps it up and shoves it into the hole in my chest, I scream as I feel my muscle clench around the fabric, but I know he's trying to keep me alive.

"Get him moving." Miles shouts as O'Brian jumps in front of us, jogging through the dam with weapon at the ready in case any of these bastard peacekeepers decide that they don't want to go down without a fight.

I only see parts of the dam as I jump from visions of black, and the bits I do see disturb me greatly. Images of innocent men and woman, drenched in sweat and choking on a mixture of vomit and blood. Is all this really worth it to win the war? I mean, I've done some terrible things in my life, but this by far the worst.

"Hey! Hey, Seth, stay with me, Seth!" Miles tries to reassure me, tapping my shoulder as he drags me through the doors and out onto the top of the dam. I look up bleakly at the night sky as hovercraft descend and soldier's pour out of the back, each of them carrying something that will help the war effort. "Seth! We're losing 'im!"

"Hey!" O'Brian shouts into the air, letting his rifle drop to his side as he waves his arms in the air frantically. A hovercraft comes above us and a column of light falls from the sky. O'Brian turns to face us, and my eyes meet his as another sound of thundering round flies through the air and breaks straight through O'Brian's stomach.

"O'Brian!" Miles screams, I feel Heath move from under my arm and I see him catch the falling O'Brian, his eyes looking through me as a steady flow of blood flows from his mouth.

I watch as O'Brian falls into Heath's arms as Heath falls to his knees. All the soldier's begin searching for the shot frantically. I watch as more rounds fly into the soldier's, the out of the corner of my eye I see them. A group of peacekeepers running into the woods, with the silver man in charge. Judging by how he punched the peacekeeper who fired he isn't too happy. Then within seconds the group of peacekeepers breaks through the trees never to be seen again.

I smile for a moment as Miles lowers me to the ground. Then my vision fades, this isn't the end for me, but I know that, for god knows how long, I'll have to deal with the images that I've seen tonight with no sense of escape.


	17. Heartaches by the Number

"You took a 'ell of a shot, they closed the wound and fixed you up, but you're bed bound for a few more days." Kate informs me with a sweet smile as she strokes my cheek. I smile back, even in the dull grey uniform all soldier's are issued she still look beautiful.

"How long was I out for?" I ask in a weak voice, the Doctors woke me up about half an hour ago and I still feel like shit if I'm honest. Kate's eyes move down my bare chest and to the sowed up hole that lies above where my heart beats.

"Few days, the quacks pumped you with some drugs and you healed rather quickly." She says with a small smile as she runs her hand gently over the scar tissue. To me it looks fine, but I can tell by the ache that pulses from my chest that I'm not fully healed yet.

"Good, I need to get back out there."

"Hey, slow down a bit will, babe? Bloody hell, it's like taking care of a sapling." She says with a small smile, I can't help but chuckle back, she's the only light I have in this bleak District. Then the door opens from behind her, and there stands the man who carried me home.

"Good to see you're sitting up." Miles says with a small smile as he walks in and stands next to Kate. Kate looks to him with a raised eyebrow, this is their first meeting. Miles extends a hand.

"Sergeant Miles, I'm Seth's second in command." Kate takes his hand and shakes it firmly.

"Kate, I'm his fiance." She says the last bit with a small titch of a small in her lips, I suppose neither of us will be able to deal with the fact that we're getting married. My decision to propose was a bit rash and unplanned, but it all worked out well in the end.

"A pleasure to meet you." Miles replies good naturedly and lets his hand drop, which he then moves around and places on my shoulder. "O'Brian is going to be fine, you got the worst of it."

"Thank fuck." I reply as I let out a sigh of relief. O'Brian took a hell of a hit back at the dam, and I'd hate to lose yet another member of my squad. "What happened to the dam?"

"About ten percent of the dam workers died, we took hundreds of prisoners of war and are using them as bargaining chips with the Capitol, there was a high number of peacekeepers that escaped into the forests though." Miles' brow creases slightly at the mention of the escaped peacekeepers.

"Is something the matter?" Kate asks, as if giving words to my thoughts.

"Yeah, they've been launching small attacks on the dam, they've done no real damage, but we can't find those silver ones."

"The ones that were tasked to kill us?" I ask with a raised eyebrow. Miles nods along, it must seem strange for him to see my face.

"Yeah, they took off and no one has heard from them."

"There are people trying to kill just you?" Kate asks, turning her attention back to me, I can tell by her eyes that she's scared for my safety.

"Aye, but so far they haven't been able to catch us." I reply with a cheeky smile. I normally wouldn't be this arrogant, but Kate needs to have her fears put to rest. "We'll be fine, my darling."

"I know you will." She replies, running one of her hands down my cheek. My skin tingles at the touch, a mixture of longing for Kate, and longing for my mask. "Want me to get it for you?"

"Yes please." I reply with a small smile, she knows me all too withdraws my mask and glasses from underneath the bed and helps me slide them over my right arm, torso and my face, then I place the glasses on. I sigh in relief as I feel the fabric on my face.

"Feeling better?"

"Much better, thank you, darling." I say with a small nod of my head, Kate nods back with a smile on her face. She stares at me for a moment, then snaps out of her trance and looks up to the clock in my room.

"Look, babe, I have to go." She quickly kisses my cheek. "I'm going to be late for training, love you!"

"Love you too." I call back as she jogs out of the room and runs down the hall. I then turn my attention to Miles, who's staring at me with an expression that's normally worn by little saplings when they've done something wrong. "What?"

"You soppy bastard."

"Oh, fuck off!" I reply as the two of us laugh together, even though every chuckle causes me to ache that little bit more. I stop and stare forward for a moment. "How bad was I?"

"Pretty bad, but Heath fixed you up on the way." Miles pulls a strange face as he sits on the edge of my bed. "Well, he sort of fixed you up, stuck a rag in you is a better term."

"Thanks for the image."

"Any time." He replies with a happy smile. We both sit in a comfortable silence for a moment, neither of us willing to speak. "I heard there's a Victor down in the armoury who's making a tonne of special weapons, why don't you ask him to make a crossbow?"

"I haven't fired a crossbow in nineteen years." I reply with a small chuckle, it's strange to think of it that way, I wonder if I've still got the skills I once had? I mean, I didn't lose my talent with a rifle, so maybe there's hope yet.

"Now's a good a time to start as any."

* * *

I despise the way I have to walk, very slowly and with an obvious limp as I try not to put too much pressure on my chest. We're at the firing range, not the one I'm used to admittedly, but at least it's a firing range. There, sitting in a small chair, is an older man with a pair of glasses on. I'm assuming it's Beetee, but I'm confused at why he has my rifle disassembled on his desk.

"Beetee!" Miles calls, the man spins in his chair and smiles to Miles, extending a hand as the two shake.

"Afternoon, Sergeant Miles."

"This is the-"

"I'm aware on who this one is." Beetee interrupts, extending a hand towards me, I to shake his hand but he instead grasps my forearm. "And, one is aware of his customs."

"A pleasure." I reply as we both shake firmly, it's strange, he does this action better than some of the people from back home do.

"It's a shame the gesture has been used less as time grows older, I'm aware it was a common gesture of good faith from your era."

"Era?" I ask with slight tilt of my head, Beetee chuckles for a moment.

"Your era, before this rebellion, before Katniss Everdeen, your era." Beetee replies, pushing his glasses further up his nose. I chuckle in reply.

"I'm afraid my Games could be considered the start of this era."

"There was speculation as to what really happened during your aircraft crash that killed you, and all the Capitol personnel on board." Beetee replies with a small smile, looks like Snow tried to cover my little uprising. "Following your demise, the 55th Hunger Games were never really shown, most people seemed to have forgotten them."

"But not you?"

"One does not forget such a dramatic turn of events." Beetee replies, I remember hearing about the 35th Hunger Games before, but I never had chance to sit down and actually watch the events unfold. "Never again has an entire arena been destroyed during the Games, except of course for the third Quarter Quell."

"Made an impression among the Victors, did I?" I ask with a happy smile under my mask, it seems I've impressed the most dangerous fighters in all of Panem.

"There was a great sense of disappointment when the Phoenix of District 7 was proclaim dead, we all found it quite strange though how Blight did not seem depressed by your apparent demise."

"He was informed of the Phoenix's survival." Miles adds, I smile at the thought of Blight's video, it's good to see he had the other Victors to rely on.

"That explain a great deal about his mental stability, I was saddened to hear of his death." I go silent for a moment, I'm not sure on how to really deal with the thought of Blight, I'd prefer just to bury the depression and focusing on my main goal, liberating District 7. "Now, I find it safe to assume you didn't travel to me in your condition to speak of that past, what is it that you require?"

"For starters, what are you doing to my rifle?" I ask with a hint of irritation. Beetee points towards it, looks like he hadn't notice that he was working on my weapon.

"Making improvements, the SR-15 is an extremely old weapon design, I've focused on making this far lighter, a thermal scope has now been added. I also gave the weapon a clean." Beetee adds that last part with a look that makes me know I've not been taking care of this weapon as well as I could have. "You may prefer this, I've also managed to reduce the recoil and tighten the groups at further distances."

"Thank you, Beetee."

"Don't thank me yet, we have yet to see how this weapon will perform in a fire fight." I turn my eyes back towards the rifle, most of the stock is a far deeper shade of black, and I'm impressed by how clean the weapon is now. "Now, considering you had no previous knowledge of your weapon's modification, what is it that you require?"

"A crossbow."

"One would have thought you'd have moved on from such barbaric weapons, the rifle is a remarkable piece of engineering." Beetee replies as he scans my dismantled weapon. "I can make you a crossbow, one of a far greater design than what you were used to."

"What's wrong with a simple crossbow?" I ask with a small tilt of my head. Beetee chuckles to himself for a brief moment.

"As effective as it is, a scope can increase your accuracy, and also better mechanism will allow you to reload the weapon faster." Beetee replies as he stares off into the distance, I'm assuming he's mentally planning out this crossbow. "May I ask why you want it?"

"Just something to do whilst on my down time." I reply, in all honestly I am looking forward to having a crossbow again, but I doubt I'll use it in combat. In fact, I'll probably still use my rifle for most things, including hunting.

"Ah yes, recreational shooting was a popular pass time among the peacekeepers in District 2 before our rebellion." Beetee looks back to the weapon and turns his chair to face it. "The weapon is nearly prepared for your use, if you're willing to wait a few more minutes."

I spend the next few minutes waiting on two things, one for Miles to retrieve my armour and the other for Beetee to finish assembling my weapon. In all honesty, the major problem I'm having at the moment is getting in and out of my armour. The under-skin of the armour as I call it, pretty much like a layer of thick fabric, slides over the wound and seems to drag it along as it grasps my body. The actual metal isn't that bad as it just straps on over the top.

Beetee moves over to the firing range with us, his eyes watching as I try to walk with my shoulders and head high. Even though pride can lead to many negative effects, showing that your proud of who you are can be a major mental attack on a watchful enemy.

I take my weapon from his hands, and by god do i notice the difference. Even with my wound I can pretty much throw the bastard thing around like it's made of air. I go for standing shots first on one hundred metre targets. Each shot sends a pain through my chest, but I can clearly notice how little recoil my rifle is throwing back at me. Beetee sure is a damn good engineer.

"How does it feel?" He asks from behind me. I smile to myself for a moment before unloading the weapon, making sure there's no rounds in the chamber just in case something goes tits up; safety first after all.

"Brilliant, thank you very much."

"My pleasure, Phoenix."

* * *

"You should 'ave seen my in that interrogation, I kicked arse!" Kate shouts happily as she paces around my hospital room, the excitement still pumping through her body. I kept my mask on and pretended to be happy. I am happy for her, that's not what I'm saying. The problem I'm having is trying to hold back the images of my integration with Callum. "I cracked him within minutes, he made a point that countered another one he had said earlier, and I picked him up on it!"

"Nicely done, darling." I reply with a smile hidden under black fabric. Kate stops and turns her attention to me, walking over and sitting on the right hand side of the bed.

"Anyway, how has your day been? I bumped into Miles and he told me you went to the range." She snuggles under my right arm, resting her head gently on my chest to avoid the bullet wound. Luckily the doctors let me stay in my arena gear, with my top and boots off.

"Painful." I admit as I bring my hand up to her cheek and stroke it gently. Kate looks up to me with those lovely eyes and smiles for a moment. "What?"

"It's just good to know you're alive. Have you heard about the other guy who got shot?" She asks innocently enough. I shake my head slowly back and forth, in all honesty, I've been trying to avoid thinking of how I can't truly protect my team. "There's something else bothering you."

"I've been to war, my darling, there's a lot bothering me."

"That was a deep answer." Kate replies with a raised eyebrow. She knows that I'm screwed up, but I normally don't speak too much about what the feeling of war is like. She stares at me for a moment before planting a kiss against my fabric hidden cheek. "You don't want to talk about it, just go to sleep, and I'll be 'ere in the morning."


	18. Incoming

I awake ever so slowly, no dreams or nightmares tonight, all because Kate acts as my own mental barrier. Holding her is the only thing that can stop my from falling into my own personal hell. I manage to slowly slide myself from her arms and step into my boots, lacing them up as I go.

I look down at my chest, half of me covered in my mask and the other half covered in bandages. I remembered when it was my mask that was bandages, black bandages, the bandages that made me who i am today. it took years for them to take effect, but when they had finished fixing my soul they made something far better than what I thought was ever possible.

I smile for a moment, and look back at the beautiful woman laying on my hospital bed. What did I do to deserve her?

* * *

Life continues like this for a few days, they pump some drugs into me which makes the wound heal extremely quickly and before I know it I'm up and moving normally. I still get the pain in my chest, and a massive downside to the chemicals are that the wound I suffered has scarred quite badly.

Yet again though, I'm down the range, happily enjoying the new crossbow that was made by Beetee for me. This little weapon is amazing, pure black plastic frame, covered in all these complicated mechanisms that allow for me to do practically anything with it.

I fire my last bolt into the moving target, hitting it dead in the middle. I smile to myself for a moment, it's good to get back a little part of old Seth that I actually liked.

I turn around and walk away from the range, handing my crossbow back in to the armourer who's job it is to store all the weapons while the soldier's aren't on the front lines.

I'm amazed on just how quiet it is compared to what I was used to. Before the war broke out, there were soldiers running around everywhere. Now they are confined to their blocks and their families are forced to weight underground, hoping the world above doesn't consume their loved ones.

* * *

Somehow I find myself at the hospital again, but this time for a far different reason than what I have had to deal with over the past few days.

"It's okay, I'd prefer to be working here than out on the front lines with you soldiers." Mrs. Everdeen says as she takes a sip of the cup of tea I made her. It took me ages to get tea bags, but a few were found on a supply run from District 7, and breaking into the cache that the officers have stored away was piss easy. "This is lovely."

"It would be better if I had all the gear from my kitchen back home." I reply as I lean against the counter, happily sipping my tea as I pull my mask over my nose. Mrs. Everdeen examines me for a moment, standing before her in a full suit of body armour.

"Considering all you've done for me, I have never actually seen your face."

"You watched the 55th Hunger Games, didn't you?"

"Oh of course I did, who didn't?" She asks with a hint of surprise. I suppose she has a point, my Games were by far some of the most dramatic and blood filled Games the Capitol has had the pleasure of seeing. "But they never replayed it after you disappeared."

"Snow wouldn't want them to, I guess." I take another sip of my tea, scanning my brain for any form of conversation other than this one. Instantly a topic springs into my mind. "How is Katniss?"

"Shouldn't you know? You are supposed to be protecting her." Mrs. Everdeen counters, in all honest I take no offence to the comment, I did promise to keep her little girl safe.

"Only on the battlefield." I reply with a small smile. "Still, how is she?"

"She's in District 12 right now, filming for 13. I can't imagine she's handling it well after Peeta tried to call the seize fire a second time." I had heard about this, that Peeta kid has been on with Caesar Flickerman and has tried to call a seize fire. Something about the population running low. As much as his point makes perfect sense, I'm not willing to give in to these Capitol bastards. If I have to kill them all to free the Districts, I'll kill them all. "At least the poor boy is alive, I always liked Peeta."

"More than Gale?" I ask innocently enough, the glare that turns to me sends a chill down my spine.

"Does my daughter's personal life concern you?"

"Well, yes, I need to know who to keep alive." As much as this comment is true, I also need to know who I can trust among the people of District 13 if it comes to turning against Coin to save the Mockingjay. I have no doubt that Gale would die for Katniss, but would he die for Katniss _and_ Peeta?

"I'm not sure who she likes." Mrs. Everdeen replies honestly, taking a small sip of her tea. I know I've over stepped my boundaries today, but it's better I find who's closest to Katniss, I don't want the girl to live in a state of despair like Callum secretly did.

"Well, looks like I'll have to keep them both alive." I reply with a cheeky smile, one which Mrs. Everdeen replies with. I don't know what it is about me that makes people more open, maybe it's because they all know how closed I used to be.

"You promise?"

"To keep them all alive?" I ask back, Mrs. Everdeen replies with a small nod. For a moment there's silence, keeping just Katniss alive will be a challenge in itself, now I'm making promises to keep a soldier and a hostage alive, and I'm not one to make promises.

"You don't think you can do it." Mrs. Everdeen observes as I let my head drop for a moment. I let out a long drawn sigh.

"One of my men got shot on the last mission, before the I lost two guys when we invaded District 7." I look back up to Mrs. Everdeen, my glasses hiding the tears forming behind my eyes. "I can't protect everyone, but I promise this, I will die before I let anything happen to any of them."

"Well," Mrs. Everdeen stares at me for a moment, "I feel better already."

* * *

I always find situations like this a bit risky, but Coin doesn't give a shit. Maybe she enjoys Katniss not knowing that the man who has been ordered to assassinate her is standing in the corner of the same room as her.

I suppose President Coin feels powerful when I'm in the room with Katniss, her own personal attack dog watching it's prey. Oh, how wrong Coin is. I may be an attack dog, but I am loyal to only the District's people; and Katniss, like it or not for her, is one of those people that I must defend.

Next to her sits Finnick Odair, I've seen him walking around before. I'm impressed by what I've heard from him, and by the sounds of it, he's very similar to Hasta. Difference is, Finnick was a survivor, where as Hasta is another name on my list of victims.

I manage to catch the end of Finnick's conversation. "-down working on it in Special Defence now. There's live programming tonight. Snow's making an appearance or something. I think it's starting."

I turn to watch the Capitol symbol appear, in all it's fucked up glory. Then President Snow's eyes appear, hate filled as ever. I wonder how frightened he is now he knows that I'm hunting him down? He greets the nation from behind a cowards podium, before the camera turns its attention towards Peeta Mellark, broken and beaten in a chair.

I quickly glance to Katniss and Finnick, both of them looking horrified at the image of their friend, damaged and mangled on the screen in front of us.

Peeta speaks about the damages of the war, on que the screen starts showing images of several different places on a map that have been damaged. My ears pick up when Peeta mentions a dam in District 7, no images are shown, and I know that Snow has been feeding the Capitol false information, I took that dam after all.

Then like an explosion, a picture of Katniss punches through the Capitol broadcast.

"He did it! Beetee broke in!" Plutarch shouts happily as he jumps to his feet, how very unprofessional of him.

The images start cutting back to a very confused Peeta, something isn't quite right in his eyes. If there's one thing I'm good at, it's reading a person, and there's no sense of love or awe shown at the sight of Katniss, only a sense of confusing feelings. What are they doing to you, Peeta?

Following some more images, some of Finnick and some of a younger girl, the interview with Peeta returns. They speak of the destruction in the Districts, before the most shocking thing I have heard happens.

"Dead by morning!" Peeta shouts into the camera. All hell breaks loose as his blood splatters onto the camera, people instantly start shouting back and forth in the room. I turn my head to Katniss, to see her staring at the screen in horror.

Everyone's confused at the message, but it's rather obvious. District 13 is going to get hit, and it's going to get hit hard. I want to shout and tell everyone, but if I draw too much attention to myself then I know Katniss will start to suspect who I am.

Suddenly my eyes catch an older set of eyes, Haymitch Abernathy. He stares at me for a moment, he knows exactly who I am, and I know he'll come looking for me. We both share the same look, we understand Peeta's message. I give a respectful gesture with my hand, giving Haymitch the stage to get these arse-holes sorted. The looks he returns me means only one thing, we're not done here.

"Shut up!" He shouts, I can't help but give a light chuckle at how quickly everyone fell silent. Haymitch turns his eyes away from me and starts scanning through the people. "It's not some big mystery! The boy's telling us we're about to be attacked. Here. In Thirteen."

Of course, people start shouting accusations back, mainly on how they could ever trust Peeta. I remain silent as haymitch turns his head back to me, looking for some sort of help. I shake my head slowly back and forth, and I watch the disgust build in his eyes. Haymitch turns his attention to Katniss, looking for help, but the girl is too shocked to do anything about this. She's going to be useless in this condition, and this makes her assassination order far more likely.

"Haymitch's right. I don't know where Peeta got the information. Or if it's true. But he believes it is. And they're-" Her words get caught in her mouth. They're torturing the poor soul, I'm so sorry, there's nothing I can do for either of you.

I ignore the rest of the conversation, except for the lock-down part, but it was obvious that that was going to happen. Suddenly the room disperses, well, except for me and Coin. I spin in my chair to face her as the siren rings.

I stare at her for a moment, she knows I want to have a word.

* * *

I follow her to her room full of the most high ranking officers and political members. It's a hell of a room to hold a bunker. There, in the corner of the room, is good old Sergeant Miles with my armour and weapons.

"I was ordered to bring them here." He informs me as I walk into the large concrete room with a sanguine carpet and covered in fancy chairs that fold into beds. Looks like the officers get all the good shit.

I strip from my military uniform, this attracts the attention of most the room, and then slide into my armour comfortably. I sheath all my weapons, except for the crossbow which is kept in the armoury, it's pretty shit in a fight. I've also been given a new weapon, a silenced pistol that straps to my right thigh.

"What is it you wish to speak about?" Coin asks in an annoyed tone. I pull the mask over my face, I need to be my most confident and most fearful right now. I turn to her and grasp her forearm, practically dragging her into the far corner of the room. Officers and Miles make there way towards me, but all stop and take a few paces back when I glare at them through my glasses, it seems I'm still one of the most frightening men in all of Panem.

"I want to go to the Capitol."

"You've made that clear."

"I want to rescue the captured Victors." Coin raises an eyebrow to my comment, but I stand firm. That boy is being tortured, and I made a promise to defend that boy or die trying.

"No. It isn't worth the risk. You could be the key to District Seven."

"And the Mockingjay is the key to the war. You saw her back there, didn't you? She not coping without him." I snap back, my voice in an aggressive whisper. Coin shakes her head slowly back and forth.

"She has survived the Games, she will survive this."

"Ever had a mental problem? Apart from be a colossal bitch?" I reply. Coin's face starts to grow red, but i really can't be fucked for her. I made a promise, I'll break rank if I have to in order to keep it. "She's going to break down, mark my words."

"If she does suffer this problem, I will reconsider your proposal." Coin replies calmly, even though she wants to rip my throat open. I make a sharp turn and return to Miles.

"Everything okay?"

"As soon as this is done, get the team ready." I order him as I grab his arm and pull his ear close to my mouth, I don't want Coin hearing us. "We'll be going to the Capitol soon."


	19. Snow's a Bastard

Sitting underground with the highest ranking officers in District 13 is, by far, the most irritating thing I have ever done in my life. I mean, I've done a hell of a lot that I've absolutely hated, but this pretty much tops it. The only thing keeping me sane right now is speaking to Miles, and when he's asleep I try to focus on the explosions instead of the many officers arse-kissing the President.

Right now Miles is asleep, I've honestly lost track of time, only the flickering of the lights and the rhythm of the explosions keeps me awake, I've spent hours in my head since the bombing began, re-living points in my life that I never thought I would ever remember.

* * *

_I didn't cry, I knew I wouldn't cry, my bandages hide the pain too well. We all knew it was going to happen anyway, and as I watch the Tribute from District 2 stab my last brother through the chest with a spear I know that I'm alone. It doesn't matter though, I've been alone since the fires consumed me._

_"I... I'm not sure what to say." Callum says from next to me. I turn my head slightly so he's in the side of my vision, at the time I didn't really know Callum, except for the few times I had seen him in school. "Sorry?"_

_"Don't be."I reply coldly and quickly, keeping my body stance firm as I face the screen. Ever back then, when I was a lot younger, I still had old Seth's personality._

_"Is there anything I can do to help?"_

_"Leaving me alone would be a start." I snap back, turning away from the screen and marching through the town with a determained pace. All around me, people stop and stare as I walk swiftly past them with clecnhed fists. Callum is right on my tale, but I ignore him as he speaks._

_"Slow down. I can't keep up!"_

_"Good!" I snap back. Speeding up ever so slightly as I try desperatly to get to my house, not be alone, but to get my crossbow and go and kill something. Anything in fact, I need to get my nager out of my system before I turn on my fellow humans._

_"Hey! Come back!" Callum shouts as I hear his footsteps break into a jog. I turn through the trees and into my area of the District, the poor area, for those who are having trouble even by District standards. Me and brother had to hunt to eat, poach is the better term, but we always found a way around the peacekeepers. The laws for killing animals are complicated in District 7, but the techniques are nothing of the sort. "Stop!"_

_"Piss off!" I shout as I turn and swing at Callum. My fist connects with the side of his face, sending a crack through the air. Callum spins for a moment, but instead of falling down crying, he brings his elbow from my right and smashes my face with it._

_I stumble backwards, struggling to gain my composure, how the hell did he turn on me that quickly? I see from the corner of my eye another fist come towards me, luckily I have age on my side._

_I grab Callum's fist, stopping it dead in it's tracks. I was a strong boy even at that age. Callum's face turns to horror as I kick him in the gut, causing him to bend forward. I then slide behind him, wrap my arms around his waste, place my feet behind his, and fall backwards._

_The take down was executed perfectly, it was a trick my brother taught me before he was sent into the Games. Callum crashes to the dirt as I slide my legs over his chest and pin him to the ground by his neck._

_"Name?" I demand as I relish in my victory against the child._

_"Callum." He replies with half a face of anger and laughter. "Yourself?"_

_"Seth." I reply, rising to my feet and extending a hand. Callum takes it and the two of stand toe to toe, examining one and other._

_Looking back on it, I never would have thought such an amazing frienship would come from that one fight. Hell, this whole rebellion could be said to have come from that one fight. I became the Assassin of the North in order to defend his lover, and I became the Phoenix of District 7 in order to honour her memory._

_That small fight started a whole chain of events that led to where I am today. if it wasn't for that fight, Katniss Everdeen would not have been born. If it wasn't for my families deaths, I wouldn't have met Callum._

_It's strange to think of it this way, that such a little event in someones life could have such an effect. Like a stone falling into a perfectly still pond, watching as the ripples flow through, causing chaos, yet changing the land beneath into something truly beautiful and worth preserving._

* * *

"Earth calling Phoenix, come in, Phoenix." Miles says as he waves his hand frantically in front of my armoured face. I snap from my dream and turn my attention to him, leaning over me with a small smile on his face. "Fucking hell, thought we'd lost you to madness then."

"I've been mad for a while." I reply with a small chuckle. My friendship with Miles is another product of that fight I had with Callum all those years ago. Miles laughed back slightly as I rise from the seat that I had been sleeping on. It must be early in the morning, judging by how most of the room is asleep. A few officers and officials are awake, but it's all quiet apart from that.

* * *

_I walk into the firing range in a full suit of armour and with Coin just behind me. I've only been awake for a day and she's already eager for me to prove myself. I walk to the armourer, who hands me my weapons and instructs me to the simulator. One that I would later transform into the training grounds for each District._

_Soldiers all stop what they are doing and watch as I march up to the simulator, stepping through the large see through walls and into the even larger room. Almost instinctively, the group of soldiers practising all stop, lay down their weapons and stand away from the simulated combat. _

_I bring my rifle into my shoulder, load a magazine, and prepare for whatever Coin is going to throw at me. The silence in the room is almost unbearable, but it's quickly broken by the sound of soldier firing at me. I lift my weapon and fire back at one of the ten soldiers, wearing full suits of armour. The round smashes into him and forces him to the ground, he's still alive though, meaning I haven't been given real rounds._

_Suddenly tens of cuboids come from the ground, all acting as pillars that I can use for cover, but then again, so can my enemies._

_I dive behind one the pillars and listen carefully, their just like peacekeepers, loud and easy to track. I take a quick glance behind me, and notice Coin and several other soldiers all watching me with great interest, this is my time to show Coin how dangerous I really am._

_I track the sound of the nine men moving and move around the pillars so I'm hidden from them. As I move through the pillars, sliding through each gap like a snake, I spot the eyes of tens of soldiers watching me with wide eyes. I bet when they saw me lying in my frozen sleep, all of them imagined what i would be like in combat, but none of them thought they would see it. _

_I stop for a moment and listen, there's a soldier coming to my left. I leap from behind the pillar I was resting on and fire two rounds, turns out there was two soldier's and I manage to hit them both._

_I dive behind yet another pillar, but instead of remaining quiet, this time I sprint as fast as my legs can carry me. I zip between the pillars, firing rounds off as I go, each one hitting it's mark. It doesn't take long before there's only two of these soldiers left._

_I go to fire the rifle, but I hear that distinct click, I'm pretty much fucked. I look down at my belt, I only brought one magazine. I drop my rifle and withdraw my sword and tomahawk, each has a strange coating over it, I'm assuming to stop me killing these two blokes._

_Now, I have to keep moving. I zip between the pillars and smash into one of the two soldiers, sending his weapon flying out of his hand as my shoulder impacts his hip. We both smash into the ground, I roll over the top of him and go to steady myself, trying desperately not lose my footing. I counter balance and then smash my tomahawk into his visor, cracking it and knocking the soldier unconscious._

_There's one soldier left, and he has his gun trailed to me. I go to sprint at him, but he unloads the weapon into my chest. The training rounds smash into me, causing me to stumble backwards. As his weapons clicks and the rounds stop flying, I fall to one knee and take deep breaths in. The soldier takes another step forward, but I can't be beaten like this, not in training, I need to show Coin I can take back the District._

_As the adrenaline pumps through me, I drop my weapons and charge the man. Flying from my position and grabbing him around his head. Shock and horror fill his face as I smash my knee into his visor, grabbing the back of his neck and smashing him against the wall._

_I hold him there for a moment, blood pouring from his helmet as I press his face in front of Coin and the soldier standing next to her. Coin gives me a sharp nod and I drop him, allowing him to slump into a groaning pile on the floor._

_Panting, I make my way out of the room and to Coin and her soldier. Coin mutters something to the soldier, then storms away at a brisk pace. I turn my attention to the soldier approaching me._

_"Think you could have hit him a bit harder? The man's a dick."_

_"I'll try next time, name?"_

_"Sergeant Miles, pleasure to meet the Phoenix of District Seven." Miles extends his hand to me and I take it. I never would have thought that, at the time, he would be the man who I would fight alongside with in the war to take back my home._

* * *

"Stop zoning out on me you selfish bastard! You may have a horrific back story to re-live but I don't!" Miles shouts whilst chuckling as he lightly slaps my face. I do as he says and laugh along with him.

"How'd you know what I was thinking about?"

"Seen guys with PTSD before, they all have the same body language when they're having a flash back." Miles replies as he sits in front of me. I tilt my head questioningly. "We had a few guys go off on operations before the war started. Most of the missions were killing off politicians, officers, that sort of thing. Anyway, a lot of the guys had nightmares of slitting their throats in their sleep."

"Did they?" I ask in an almost innocent tone.

"No," Miles replies honestly, "they did far worse than that."

"It had to be done." I reply, thinking on how I has assassinated the politician sleeping in District 7. Did I feel bad? Yes. Did he deserve it? Fuck yes. "It's their fault, we didn't start this."

"We did, we started the war. We just didn't start the oppression." Miles replies as he leans back on his hands. "In the end, it will be worth it, and we'll get to see Snow's face when it all goes to shit."

"The bastard will get what's coming to him." I reply as I begin to zone out again, thinking of how I toyed with Snow. I should have disobeyed orders and killed him. I should have ended him there and then. I should have ended the bastard.


	20. Unto The Capitol

"Seth!" Kate calls, sprinting through the halls and flying into my arms. I pick her up and squeeze tightly, I don't care if I lose my col-hearted reputation, I needed to hold my future-wife again. "I was so worried."

"It's all over now." I whisper as I stroke the back of her hair. Miles walks up next to me, standing awkwardly. He has something to say, but he doesn't want to break up our reunion.

"Phoenix." He whispers, I hold Kate out at arms length, lift my mask over my nose a plant a kiss on her lips. "Coin wants to see us, you too, Kate."

"Why me?" Kate asks in confusion, it's been a day since the bombings stopped, and we've both been working around the clock. Miles shrugs in reply.

"Don't know, but lets go find out."

* * *

"You were right." Coin tells me as I stand in front of her desk. To my right is Kate and Gale, and to my left is Miles and some other man, Boggs I think his name is. "The Mockingjay has failed to do her duty, we need to rescue the Victors."

"We're going in?" I ask with a slight hint of hope. Coin nods back. I take a quick glance at Boggs and Gale, they both knew this was coming by the looks of it.

"I've said it was a volunteer mission only, Soldier Hawthorn and Sergeant Boggs have volunteered. Officially, Boggs is leading the mission, but I'm leaving it to you and your team, Phoenix."

"Ma'am, O'Brian still hasn't recovered." Miles adds in his soldier tone. It seems that all members of the military share the same tone and expression when speaking to a superior.

"That's why Soldier Hawthorn will replace him for this mission, any objections?" Coin asks, I quickly glance to Gale, who is staring at me. His eyes tell me he wants this, he _needs_ this.

"No, ma'am, but I need to know numbers." I reply, there's no point in going into a fight if you don't know what you're up against.

"There'll be eight of us, seven on record because you're not officially here, sir." Boggs answers for me. I turn to Sergeant Boggs and prepare in my head to give my orders.

"Sergeant, grab your best three men and meet me in the hangar. Don't bring survival gear, this'll be a hit and run." I order. Boggs gives me a nod, looks to Coin, who dismisses him. Boggs gives a sharp salute and jogs from the room. "Ma'am, why is Kate here?"

"Haven't you been told yet?" I shake my head and look to Kate, she looks just as confused as I do. Coin smiles a false smile at Kate. "You passed the tests, you're to provide intel for this mission, and man the drone, of which will provide the rescue team with up-to-date information."

"Yes, ma'am." Kate replies happily. Coin then dismisses Kate, but she stops for a moment.

"Something wrong?"

"No, ma'am." Kate replies, she's having the same feeling as me. This could be the last time we ever see each other in person. I know the danger every time I go to battle, but this mission isn't a simple mission, is it?

Kate pulls my mask over my nose and kisses me, I wrap my arms around her and kiss back. It was only quick, but when she lets go I can feel the longing for her building in my chest.

"You be safe, okay?" She pleads, tears building in her eyes.

"Hey, when have I ever done anything reckless?" I reply with a small smirk. Kate chuckles for a second, then jogs out of the room before her emotions get the better of her. I pull my mask back over my face and turn to Coin.

"I take it I'm planning this whole thing?" I ask, Coin nods to me, completely unfazed by my display of affection for Kate that i had just shown. I suppose most couples would have done the same thing. "When do you want us to go?"

"By eighteen hundred, any more questions?"

* * *

I'm stood around a holo table, as I've decided to call these bloody things, with seven other soldiers. Miles to is to my left and Gale to my right. We all stare at the hologram of the prison building, a large skyscraper where only the most dangerous political prisoners are kept.

"You've done something like this before though." Miles comments, turning his attention to me as I stare with folded arms at the hologram.

"Care to explain?" Boggs asks, looking up at me. I can sense what the seven men staring at me feel, most feel confusion, but some with that small hint of wonder. I let out a long drawn sigh.

"We'll speak of that another time. Now, what I say we do is drop in on the roof, and proceed down. The cells the Victors are being held in are only five stories from the top." I say, pointing at the hologram. For a moment all the men keep looking at me, before finally turning their attention to hologram. "We can get air dropped onto the roof and then fight our way down. Boggs, if you're team clears out the level beneath us, my team will grab the prisoners and drag them back to the hovercraft."

"Why would we clear out the level beneath?" Heath asks, giving me a confused look.

"Don't want them coming up and killing us while we're escorting the prisoners." I reply, the team all nods along, no one wants to get jumped while carrying a wounded person. Hell, no one wants to get jumped full stop.

"So," Gale starts from beside me, I turn my head to face him, "we'll be dropping in by hovercraft, fighting down to the prison. Sergeant Boggs' team will clear the level beneath us, whilst we save the prisoners."

"Sounds about right to me." Miles replies. "You've all got your gear?"

"My teams sorted." Boggs replies with a determined nod. I'm glad that I've been given professionals for this mission and not a bunch of arseholes.

"Good, get the gear on the hovercraft, we leave in an hour." I order, the men all scatter, each knowing what to do without being told exactly. That's a sign of an amazing team. Everyone went except for Gale, who is still stood next to me.

"Something the matter?" I ask, turning my full attention towards the man standing before me. He chuckles to himself for a moment.

"It's my first time going to the Capitol." He replies. An understandable answer. The people from District 13 don't really understand the oppression that we had to live under in the other twelve Districts.

"You won't get to see much of it. I'll be honest, I haven't seen most of it." I reply honestly. There's only a small section of the Capitol I have seen, and I've hated every minute of it. Except for taunting President Snow, of course. "It'll be fine."

"I'm not worried about that." Gale replies, I tilt my head ever so slightly, trying to work out what he's worried about.

"You're worried about Peeta and Katniss." It was a wild stab in the dark, but judging by his reaction my knife managed to hit home. "You're worried about them reuniting."

"If it makes her better."

"If it makes her better," I interrupt before the depression hits him, "you'll leave her be. That's the problem with loving a person, Gale, you're not always what's best for them."

"And he is!?" Gale counters. I let my hand slide off his shoulder. "Me and Katniss are hunting partners! We've known each other since we were twelve! We-"

"You didn't go into the Games with her." I reply quickly and coldly, I can't have Gale thinking like this if we're going into war. "Ever been in an arena, Gale?"

"No."

"Then how can you possibly understand what they have been through together?" I ask with a hint of aggression in my voice. "How can you even relate to that feeling, of fighting alongside someone, knowing that you'll have to kill them. Imagine you and Katniss had to hunt together, then the deer count ran low, and you knew you had to kill Katniss to save your family."

"I-"

"Now imagine, suddenly there's a massive boom of deer! You can feed your family, you don't have to kill Katniss after all! How grateful would you feel?" I counter. For a moment Gale is silent, not knowing how to answer. "I know exactly how they feel. I would have died to get my friends out of that arena, hell, I volunteered knowing that I wasn't coming out. Know what happened instead? Claire was killed right in front of my eyes, and I had to put Hasta out of his misery. Then I had to execute Callum, another one of my friends, just to make sure they didn't kill the rest of us."

"I'm-"

"Then, I found out that my mentor had been killed. I haven't even mentioned what has happened to my family." I stop in my tracks for a moment, allowing my blood to cool as I stand before Gale. I have never snapped at someone like this before. "If it makes her happy, leave her be, you'll only make it worse for everyone else."

"Phoenix... I..."

"Save it, Gale." I interrupt again, fuck I'm being rude today. "Just leave it be, we've both got a job to do, lets just bring Peeta home, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good, now go get your gear ready. I need to go clear my head." I order. Gale storms off, leaving me standing alone at the holo table, staring at the image of the prison. "How the hell are we going to pull this off?"

* * *

I always get that feeling when I fly, the feeling that I may have to survive yet another explosion. That fear that history will repeat itself and I will fall into a slumber, one that I won't awake from.

"My men are all ready, anything else we need, sir?" Boggs asks as he sits opposite me. In all honesty, the ride is so easy on these aircraft that we don't really need to be strapped in, but after my first flight with District 13 I am taking no chances.

"Bit late for that isn't it?" Miles asks with a small chuckle. We've been in the air for about an hour.

"We'll be fine Sergeant. We'll fight alongside you until we get to the prisoners." I instruct, Boggs nods along, he seems fine with my plan.

"We'll get it done." Boggs replies, then returns to his men over in the corner of the hovercraft. It seems strange, normally soldiers all band together, but i suppose my team is made of the outsiders of their society.

"They don't talk to us much." Miles adds, keeping an eye on the four other soldiers flying with us.

"We don't have much to talk about." Gale adds, as he moves to sit opposite me. Heath looks to Gale for a moment, obviously untrusting of him. I tilt my head to Heath.

"Apologise, sir." Is all he replies with, ever the model soldier.

"Everything okay?" Gale asks with a small frown. I turn my attention back to Gale, and rip my armoured mask from my face.

"Aye, it'll be fine, just focus on getting your head in the game."

"Is yours?" Miles asks, looking down to my mask and then back to my face. I then look to Heath, who seems just as shocked as Miles.

"I'll be fine, I'm not that much of fan on this shit hole."

Suddenly the hovercraft stops. The lights go off and the back of the hovercraft opens. I stand up, slide my mask back over my face and draw my rifle.

"Hit them hard, hit them fast, lets move!"


	21. Breaking of Dawn

We all land on the roof with a crash, eight men all preparing to give there lives for their District brothers, captured by the oppressive Capitol. The hovercraft remains invisible just above the prison. Suddenly the voices on my radio light up.

"Adviser to Phoenix, radio check, over."

"Phoenix, loud and clear, sound off lads."

The team each speaks into the radio, each of them doing last checks to make sure their coms are up and running before we charge into one of the most secure areas in the Capitol, I'm surprised the roof isn't guarded actually.

"Siren to Phoenix, do you read?" I hear a familiar voice over the radio.

"Kate?"

"That's me honey." She replies over the radio, and I can't help but smile. "We have a drone overhead, no ones noticed you yet, babe, I'd get your arse moving if I was you."

"You could try and keep this professional." Adviser retorts over the radio.

"Naa, fuck that." Kate replies, causing a burst of giggles throughout the team.

I signal with my hand for the team to move to the large door on the roof. I give it a quick nudge but nothing happens. Bloody typical, they don't guard the roof, they just lock it and hope that will keep an army out.

Being the sensitive, thoughtful man that I have grown to be, I open the door with a massive kick and proceed down the stairs.

"Barbarian."

"Not helping, Kate." I whisper as I move down the staircase. It doesn't take long to get to the next door, I turn the knob, this one isn't locked. I look behind me, Gale is right behind me with a silenced sub-machine gun. "You ready?"

"Let's get this done." Gale replies with a determined nod. I give the thumbs up to the rest of the men and burst through the door. Two peacekeepers stand talking in front of it, they both turn to late. I smash into the one, firing my weapon into the second. That one falls dead, whilst I turn to the collapsed peacekeeper and execute him before he can say anything.

The rest of the room is empty, beside from the mass number of desks with computers on them. The rest of my team funnel in from behind and begin scanning the room, making sure that no one is hiding from us.

There's two sets of stairs on either side of the room, I order Boggs' team into the left one while my team go with the others.

We descend down the next flight of stairs and into the next level. This time, no peacekeepers, why is it so damn quiet?

Then we're down to the next level. It's just a long horizontal corridor. Gale lets off a burst of rounds down the corridor, of which land in a pair of peacekeepers standing outside a large metal door in the middle.

I catch Boggs looking to me from across the corridor, I give him the thumbs up and watch him and his men descend into the room beneath us. I jog with my men up to the large door, with it's own small pass-code.

"How we getting in?" Miles asks. I think for a moment, before sliding my rifle over my back and drawing my sword. I do a quick check, there are no windows so we won't be seen when I do this.

"Get behind me and get ready to open fire." I order as I hold the sword ready in my right hand. Miles, Heath, and Gale all take position behind me with their weapons pointed towards the door.

I mutter the words and slam my sword between the two pieces of metal as the flames engulf me and my weapon. I hear the gasp of Gale from behind me and smile as I bring my sword down with all my force, cutting through all of the locks that hold the door shut.

The door slides open and instantly rounds begin to fly, but I've hit the deck and can't see. Only after a few seconds when the rounds have stopped firing am I able to look up and see the six peacekeeper bodies lying in front of me.

I spin around and Gale grasping his shoulder.

"I'll be fine." He insists. Heath rips a piece of fabric from Gale's uniform and wraps it tightly around his wound. Luckily it's in Gale's left shoulder, or he wouldn't be able to fire his weapon. I draw my tomahawk and walk into the large corridor, each with a room coming off from each one.

A scientist walks around the corner with a pistol, but he meets a quick at when my tomahawk embeds itself in his forehead.

I mutter the words to let the fire die down, I don't want to burn the building down with me inside it after all.

Most of the rooms are empty, yet as we reach the end, I have to stop and grasp onto one of the jail cell bars.

"Fuck!" I shout as the images flush through my mind, I look back up to the poor girl in front of me, even though she's technically older than me. Baby Johanna, tortured in such a way. "Heath, Gale, get Johanna."

"I promis-"

"Gale, get Johanna, I can't." I reply, looking up to him. Even though my mask is on, he must be able to tell I'm pleading with him. Gale senses my pain and gives me a quick nod. I turn and start smashing the gates with my sword and tomahawk.

The team does as instructed, and Miles grabs the small red headed girl and begin to lead her away. This leaves me alone with Peeta, laying face down in his cell. I put my tomahawk and sword away, helping the boy to his feet with my right shoulder.

"Rise and shine, Peeta." I whisper as I gently slap his cheek. He begin to come to and gives me a strange look, almost horrified. "I'm a friend, I'm getting you out of here, come on."

"Who are-"

"Doesn't matter, can you walk?" Peeta nods in reply, I give him a small nod back and draw my pistol with my left hand. "Boggs, how's it going?"

"We got peacekeepers coming up the stairs, but we can hold them." Then I hear the sound of gunshots fill the radio. I turn my attention back to Peeta, who's eyes are darting around the room frantically. "There's something else, we have a commander here."

"Commander?" I ask with a slight quiver in my voice. For the love of everything, please, please, let it not be Commander Thread.

"Commander Thread, the man leading the peacekeepers in District 7, he's here in the building." Boggs replies. My heart drops for a moment, but I have a job to do, so I start walking Peeta from the room.

"Keep them pinned, I'll come back for you ASAP." I reply, as I practically drag Peeta from the prison and up the flights of stairs.

"Where are we going?"

"Somewhere safe." I reply to the broken boy as I drag his broken shell of a body up the staircase. "Save your strength, I'll get you there."

"Who are you?" He asks again, I look down to him as I drag him through the highest level and towards the door.

"Seth Greenlaw, I'm here to save you." I say, causing a small smile to break through his bruised and inflated lips. What have they done to you?

I continue to drag him up to the roof. Finally we break out and I hear the sounds of sirens in the distance. We've got incoming it seems. Gale jumps from the hovercraft and helps me drag Peeta onto it's shiny surface.

"Commander Thread is here, I need to go get him." I say to Miles, suddenly Adviser's voice erupts through the radio.

"Negative, Phoenix. Commander Thread is not the target." I feel my blood boil, if I have a chance to kill the bastard who forced me to kill Callum, I fucking will.

"I don't give a shit, this is personnal." I reply as i turn around and charge back into the prison. Adviser screams in my ear, but it's the voice of Kate telling me I made her a promise that controls my rage. I let out a long drawn sigh. "I'll escort the rest of the team out and then get back on the hovercraft."

"We're a go on that plan. Stay safe." Adviser replies as I burst down the staircase and behind Boggs, he's been skimmed a few times but he'll be fine.

"Get moving, I'll cover the rear." I order. Boggs and his men begin limping up the staircase, with my firing my pistol down at the peacekeepers below. That's when I notice him, and he notices me.

For a moment time seems to stop, and the shock on his face builds as he watches me fire another round down at his men. That shock quickly turns to rage as he brings his rifle up and begins to fire. Commander Thread, I have returned.

I dive backwards as the rounds fly over my head. Boggs has made his way up the stairs and I follow behind him.

"Get your arse moving, Seth, we've got enemy hovercraft inbound." Kate shouts over the radio. I sprint the remaining part of the stairs, desperately trying to reach the top level. As I break through I watch Boggs run into the last staircase, but I'm too late.

An explosion goes off, sending me flying through the air and crashing into a pile of desks. The roof caves in slightly and the doorway becomes clogged, with on a gap about the size of my chest left. Boggs sticks his head over and screams my title.

"Go!" I shout back, Boggs goes to object but I rip my mask off and look to him with pleading eyes. Everyone will die if they wait for me, the hovercraft will be on them and they'll all die. "I'll be fine, just go!"

* * *

And just like that he was gone. I slide my mask back over my face and listen as the radio bursts into voices, each arguing over the same point, they can't just leave me here to die.

I put my pistol away and withdraw my rifle, deciding to sprint down the other staircase, hoping that the peacekeepers won't catch me.

I keep sprinting down the stairs until I reach the bottom floor.

"Get out of there, Phoenix, we'll come back for you." Adviser says through the radio, judging by Kate's silence, she's been taken away from this mission. I let out a long drawn sigh.

"Leave it, Adviser. You'll only get more men killed." I reply with a heavy heart as I reach the massive glass doors of the prison, then I hear the sound of guns cocking behind me. I feel a silent tear slide down my cheek from under my mask. What happened to being prepared for the end? "Phoenix, out."

"How are you alive?" Commander Thread asks from behind me. I sigh and turn, finding him standing with a pistol pointed at me from just thirty yards away, behind him are ten peacekeepers.

"It's a long story." i reply as I pull my mask off and breath in the cold fresh air. Thread frowns for a moment, where he has aged considerably, I'm still in my youth.

"You must have been in stasis all this time, there's no way you'd still be that young." Thread adds, keeping his pistol pointed to me. "Tell me, how did you survive the missile impact?"

"Luck." I admit with a half-arsed smile. "Nothing else to it, I landed in the lake and my armour took most of the impact. Only two of us made it out alive."

"Kate?"

"Kate." I confirm with a small smile, thinking of her face always lightens the situation. I sigh again. "Is this how it ends, Thread? You execute me in the Capitol? We still have a promise to keep after all."

"I haven't forgotten it, but this all seems rather easy, wouldn't a hunter like you agree?" He asks with a superior smile written over his face. I chuckle for a moment.

"You want me to play prey?" I ask, this is all an ego boost for Thread, and I hope to god I can play off it. I slide my mask back over my face and turn my attention back to the head peacekeeper. "How long?"

"Five minutes. Best start running."

* * *

I didn't need to be told twice. Threads wants me to the be his deer, so I'll be his deer, but the wolf doesn't always win the hunt. A useful thing about learning how to hunt prey, is that you know what the clever ones do to escape.

So I sprint from the doors and turn right, sprinting around the corner of the prison I take another right, and then another, so I am actually sprinting left.

I keep pounding, my weapons are holstered and I can feel my legs burning as the blood and chemicals are forced through my body as fast as the heart can carry them.

My head's down and I don't stop, I zip through the many buildings, with the sound of sirens and soldiers all shouting behind me. The only real ally I have right now is the night, but that will soon fade when the sun rises.

I jump behind car as two peacekeepers jog past, in that strange uniform that I saw from the dam, what the hell are those guys doing here? They both stop for a moment and scan the area. I remain low and carry on sliding around the side of the car, praying that they won't find me.

They continue scanning, and I continue moving around the car like the scared prey I am. For once I know what it's like to be the hunted, and I much prefer being the hunter.

They carry on jogging along and I let out a long drawn sigh, slumping into a pile by the car and chuckling slightly to myself. My moment of relief is short lived as a hovercraft appears above me and I'm forced to dive back into the shadows.

I carry on like this until I reach a rode block, with two familiar looking soldiers standing there. They both raise there weapons to me as I approach. This is it, I've been caught, but they suddenly lower them.

"The Phoenix of District Seven?" One of the two men calls. I stop in my tracks and nod at the peacekeepers in a silver uniform with the star on his shoulder. "You were at the dam?"

"Aye." I reply in disbelief, why is he asking me questions?

"You fought to free the Districts?" He asks, looking to the other peacekeeper, and the back to me.

"Aye." I reply with a tremor in my voice. He lowers his weapon in reply, what the fuck is going on?

"We'll make a deal, you let us come with you to District Thirteen, we'll give you information, deal?" He asks. I stand in shock for a moment. This is obviously a trap, but they've got their weapons ready and I don't, and with the other peacekeepers at my back, I have no time to argue.

"Deal." I reply sharply, trying to make it seems as if I have control of the situation. The peacekeeper gives a quick nod as I jog over and through the massive gate to the outside world, the peacekeepers follow me as we sprint into the trees and up the hill outside of the Capitol.

It takes about an hour before we're finally walking, and we're all stood on top of a hill looking over to the Capitol as the sun rises from behind it. I bring my fingers to my radio.

"Phoenix to Adviser." For a moment there's silence. Before the radio finally breaks into life and I feel my heart flutter as the relief sets in.

"Adviser to Phoenix, are you okay?" He asks with genuine worry in his voice, there's going to be hell to play when I get back to District 13.

"I'm fine, I need a pick up." I turn to the two peacekeepers standing in front of me with their tinted visors. Neither saying a word or showing me their faces. "And I've got company."


	22. Consequences

"What gave you the right to make that deal? You're pushing the boundaries of my patience again, Phoenix." Coin instructs as I stand in her office with my arms folded over my chest. I barely got to see Kate after I got off the hovercraft, hell I haven't even had chance to go to sleep yet.

I got off the hovercraft, got both slapped and hugged by Kate. Then i was told Peeta had strangled Katniss. Then I was dragged into President Coin's office.

"I didn't have time to ponder the situation, I was in a crisis." I reply, thinking back to the two peacekeepers who sat in perfect silence on the way back from the Capitol. It seems they are in the same position as me, being that they aren't on the Capitols official records. "Looks, they could have shot me, but they spared me."

"They could have been spies!"

"But they aren't hell, I'm sure the intel guys have managed to get some useful information from them." I counter, feeling my blood start to boil. "Would you prefer I made the deal or die?"

"I'd prefer you had killed them both. Now leave me!" Coin orders, I give a quick salute and turn out of the room as fast as possible. I don't want to be on the receiving end of this.

* * *

I stand in the hospital, this time staring into Peeta's room. What did they do to you? I know the passion and commitment you felt for that girl when you went into the arena, I know the feeling of being willing to suffer oblivion alone for a person, yet you attacked her? Some thing doesn't add up.

Peeta is out cold on the hospital bed, locked up to make sure he doesn't wake up and start trying to kill people again, but something tells me he won't be attacking anyone other than Katniss.

I hear a sound of someone moving behind me. The steps are too heavy to be a doctor, and if it was a soldier I'd have been called by them already, meaning there's a small list of people it could be.

"Haymitch." I call, keeping my attention focused on Peeta.

"What the hell are you doing here? You're meant to be dead." He replies, coming to stand next to me. A reasonable question, we've only met once and I doubt he even remembers it.

"This is District Thirteen, we're all are meant to be dead." I reply as we both fall silent for a few moments. "How's Katniss?"

"Distraught, but she'll be fine. Now you tell me why your name was on a list to keep away from her." Haymitch demands as he grabs my shoulder and turns me to face him. "Don't think I've forgotten you, the Assassin of District Seven, I've seen you execute people on national television. Why does Coin want you hidden from Katniss?"

"Wish I knew." I lie back, but Haymitch seems unconvinced with my answer.

"I've looked through the promos of Katniss. You were there." He hisses at me, I've caught this man in a bad mood by the look of it. "Then I hear that there was eight people going to rescue the Victors and not seven, I ignored it when seven people returned, then another hovercraft comes back from the Capitol with you and two peacekeepers?"

"Hands off Haymitch." I order, standing straight and vertical, yet he seems undaunted. I smack his hand off my shoulder and click my neck. "I'm not trying to kill Katniss, in fact, it's the opposite."

"You're protecting her? Why?" Haymitch demands. I look back to Peeta for a moment.

"Everyone needs a guardian angel. We've kept it hidden from Katniss so that the Capitol can't pinpoint my location, I'm considered a highly valuable target."

"Why would they get an assassin to protect her? Surely there are soldiers better trained for the job." Haymitch counters, he has a point. I think I would prefer a professional to defend me rather than a glorified murderer.

"Guards can fight guards, soldiers can fight soldiers, but how many assassins have you fought?" I ask Haymitch, he falls silent for a moment as a frown grows across his brow. "I was the most dangerous assassin in all of Panem, how many people can say they know how an assassin thinks?"

"Not many." Haymitch admits, taking a step backwards, but still not too happy with my answer. He turns his attention to Peeta, as do I. "What happened to you? Blight never told us."

"I'm glad of it, I don't want to recall it." I reply. Haymitch understands. All Victors understand. There's a pain in the arena that everyone tries to forget after they leave it. "I heard what happened to Katniss, how is she?"

"Unconscious at the moment, I've spoken to her since the attack but she's not taking it well." Haymitch replies with a hint of sorrow. It strange to see a man's reputation fail him, I've heard he was stone cold and could never faulter. Looks like Katniss and Peeta mean more to him than he realises.

"She'll be fine, but what about Peeta?"

"Been hijacked." Haymitch replies quickly and sharply. I turn my head to him and tilt it slightly, it seems everyone understand my questioning look, no matter if they've spoken to me in depth or not. "They altered his memories of Katniss with tracker venom, poor sod doesn't even see her as human no more."

"I only caught a glimpse of them." I reply, turning my attention back to Peeta. "From what I saw, he loves her more than she knows."

"She knows it, she just doesn't want to feel the same." Want to feel the same? Why would she push him away like that?

"Doesn't feel the same? Or doesn't want to?" I ask in confusion. Haymitch laughs for a moment.

"It could be either, but I think she'll come around to him soon enough, or would have." Haymitch corrects himself at the end. Peeta just strangled the poor girl, the chance for redemption is rather slim after something like that. "Do you feel responsible for them?"

"Yes."

"Why?" I chuckle for a moment at the question.

"I got her parents together on my Victory Tour. I didn't know Everdeen for long, but he was a good man." I let out a sigh as I think of yet another dead friend. "I can't let his memory disappear, or anyone elses."

"You're inspired, that I'll give you." Haymitch replies, maybe I've impressed him enough that he'll get off my fucking back!

"I also promised Mrs. Everdeen I'd protect all three of them."

"All three of them?"

"Katniss, Peeta, and Gale." I turn to face Haymitch again, and can see the understanding that he's showing right now. "I started this war, I won't let them die because of it."

* * *

My sorrow was obvious for all to see. I walked through the District still wrapped in my armour. Refugees from all different Districts stare at me as I walk through the swarms of people with my head low and my shoulders slightly lower than normal. My fists are clenched and I walk with slower and more smooth strides than normal. I look truly lost.

Then, a familiar face stops in front of me, forcing me to look up from my depression.

"Come on, Seth, Adviser has called you into the interrogations." Miles says with a sad smile. All eyes in the corridor seem to be on me and Miles. I stare at him blankly, even if we saved the Victors, it all seems like a massive defeat for me. "The peacekeepers are requesting to speak to you."

"I haven't been in an interrogation since..." I let my last words drag for a moment as my head drops yet again. How weak I must seem to all who are observing me.

"Since Callum, I know. Lets just get it over with, okay?" Miles replies with a positive tone. I nod along and begin following in his footsteps, the entire District observing my silence as I feel the full force of my defeat.

* * *

"You're the leader of the team?" I ask to the peacekeeper. He gives me a single nod and returns to his silence. People have been trying to get any word from him all day but nothing seems to happening. "Why did you let me go?"

"I have already told you." The peacekeeper replies. At least he answered me, which is a start I suppose.

"To get here, I know, but why would you want to come here?" I ask back. The peacekeeper stares at me for a moment, as if pondering what he is going to answer with next.

"To escape the Capitol." He replies, his answer catches me off guard, and now i take a few moments to reply.

"Escape the Capitol?"

"Affirmative."

"Why?" I ask again. He's proving easy to get information out of, for some reason he wanted to speak to me and only me.

"We disliked the life we were given." He replies, I assume he's talking about him and the other peacekeeper, who is in the jails right now.

"You signed up for it." I retort. The peacekeeper chuckles for a moment, maybe he was conscripted into the peacekeepers?

"Negative." He replies, in a more monotone voice that what I used to use, which is quite impressive.

"What district are you from?"

"Unknown." He replies. Unknown? What the fuck is going on here?

"What is your name?"

"I have no name." He replies. Is this guy for real?

"What were you known as?" I ask. He replies with a long number that seems to go on for a good ten seconds. "And that is your name?"

"I have no name."

"Well for the purpose of this, I'm going to call you Michael, okay, Michael?" I ask, I can't go calling him by a number for all eternity.

"Affirmative." Michael replies, his voice still sounding exactly the same.

"So, Michael." I start, bring my elbows to rest on the silver table between my and the peacekeeper. "How did you end up becoming a peacekeeper?"

"I can't remember." Michael replies. I'm confused by his answer. There's something seriously wrong going on here. I tilt my head slightly, but he just copies my action, it's like talking to a machine. "I was told that I was an orphan, and that I was taken to be trained as a peacekeeper."

"And what about the other peacekeeper?"

"The same, all of the Presidents Guards are trained specifically for the task." He replies. I feel genuinely sorry for this man. My childhood wasn't the best, but at least I had some form a childhood. He never had the pleasure of having a family.

"Why would you turn against the Capitol?" I ask. For a moment Michael's shell cracks as I notice a small twitch in his neck, ever so slight, but it was there.

"I was in charge of sixteen men. Of which, there are four of us left." He begins, and already I understand why he would dislike telling this story. "We were considered special forces. Capable of anything. There was a high number of peacekeepers who were under the regiment, but my team only consisted of sixteen of them, out of hundreds."

"First," he begins to tell me, "we were tasked with guarding the President, you got in, we failed."

"Okay, what next?" I ask, trying not to feel slightly surprised that they know exactly who I am. I thought Snow would have kept me a secret, after all, I was confirmed dead by the Capitol.

"Next we were tasked to hold the dam." He lets out a long sigh. "Again, we failed."

"And then?"

"And then, for our failure, Commander Thread executed half of us and imprisoned the others." He says bleakly. For a moment I do nothing but stare at him in disbelief. Thread was cruel, but that takes it to a whole new level. "Upon you entering the prison, everything went haywire, the four of left decided to escape."

"If there's four of you left, why have we found only two of you?" I ask with a frown, even though he can't see it under my mask. Then again, I can't see his expressions from under his helmet, of which he refused to remove.

"Four died whilst trying to escape. We were separated, me and my second in command were the two you found." He concludes. I can't help but feel sorry for this peacekeeper, at no point did an orphan, or anyone for that matter, deserve the life that they were forced into.

"So you came here looking for an escape?"

"We came here looking to join you."

* * *

"What makes you think we can trust them?" Coin demands, her face redder than blood itself.

"I don't know, he just didn't seem like he was lying." I reply. Coin rolls her eyes, I have to admit, it was a rather weak argument that I had just given.

"That's the best evidence you have recovered? You have a feeling." Coin spits back, obviously not in the mood for my arguments, yet again.

"I hate the idea of giving the enemy an advantage, but if I'm right, then we have two highly trained soldiers on our side." Coin stares at me with eye so deep with anger that even I seem surprised.

"What do you suggest we do?"

"Paint their armour black, the rest of my team have dyed their uniforms black, and I'll take them under my command." I recommend. Coin just stares at me for a moment, as if I actually might have some logic to my argument.

"Agreed." She confirms sharply, causing my to take a step back in surprise. "They're your responsibility now, and you must suffer any of the consequences."


	23. Painted Black

I watch Michael and Andrew, Andrew being the name I gave to the other peacekeeper, spar in the training hall. The two of them are amazing, hell, I don't think I could beat them if I had to go up against them in a fight. Miles sits next to me, both of us resting upon a large crate that could contain anything.

"They're good." Miles comments as we watch the two black-armoured figures battle in front of us. It seems that most of the training hall is watching them spar, amazed at just how good they really are at fighting. "What else have you found out about them?"

"They were at the Capitol when I was, but both of them weren't guarding Snow when I was there." I reply, and I'm glad of it. That hologram trick would not have worked if I had tried to go against these two warriors. "Apart from that, all they know is fighting. I gave them the option to have a rest but they decided to spar instead."

"Is that all they know?" Miles asks. To some it may seems like a stupid question, but that is all they know.

"Yeah, they don't know their ages, their old names, where they were from, all they know is that they're orphans that were given to the Capitol." I reply as I watch the two warrior countering each other with no obvious end in sight. "I thought I had it bad..."

"You did, these two had a completely different life to you." Miles replies, even with the balaclava over his face, you can still tell by his eyes that he is impressed by the two peacekeepers. I shouldn't call them that anymore, Outcasts is a better name for them, and I know they'll wear the name of shame like a badge of honour. "I've had an update from O'Brian."

"How is he?" I ask with a small hint of guilt. I couldn't face going to see O'Brian, I feel like I'm the one who failed him. I know that I can't blame myself for him being wounded, but he was one of my men, and I can't help but feel responsible for him.

"Angry that you didn't go see him." Miles replies. I tilt my head slightly to Miles, and he just chuckles along good naturedly. "He'll be fine, and he'll be coming back to the team in a few days."

"Does he know?"

"About the peacekeepers?" Miles asks, knowing the answer before he asked. "Yeah he knows, he's not happy with it, but he understands your decision. I don't think I could have left them out to hang either."

"Good. If we lose the moral high-ground, we lose the war." I'm speaking from a philosophical view point here of course. Hell, if I dropped my morals I could probably take the Capitol down on my own, but then I would be as bad as Snow, wouldn't I?

For a moment we both sit and watch them fight. The only real way I can tell the difference between the two of them is their shoulders. Where they once worse stars, they now have horizontal stripes. Michael has one, and Andrew has two. It's meant to represent the rank structure. I'm assuming that, if we ever found the rest of Michael's team, they'd all have a different symbol painted onto their uniform.

I stand and walk towards the two Outcasts. "That's enough fighting for now, go to your quarters."

"And do what, sir?" Andrew asks. He's a short peacekeeper with a high toned voice, I'm assuming that he's quite young, about eighteen. I shrug for a moment, what I normally do when I'm in my quarters is spend time with Kate, and I don't think they'd want me sharing that information.

"I don't know, what do you enjoy?"

"Fighting, sir." They both reply in unison. I stare at them blankly for a few moments, and I can only assume they are doing the same back to me.

"Okay. Carry on, I guess." I reply with a hint of confusion. The two Outcasts nod to me, then instantly begin swinging their fists at each other. I shake my head as I walk back to Miles. I can see he's chuckling as well.

"Face it, they aren't going to stop."

"I've accepted that." I reply as we both laugh together, turning from the two Outcasts and making our way back into the main complex of District 13.

* * *

I decide to head to see Beetee, hopefully he could help make something to keep my two new soldiers entertained instead of the two of them beating seven shades of shit out of each other. Upon entering Beetee's "lair" I encounter Gale, who I haven't seen since the mission. He turns to me in surprise.

"Seth?" It comes out as more of a question than a statement.

"Gale." I reply calmly as I walk into the room. Beete spins in his chair to face me.

"Ah, Mr. Greenlaw, is there something you require?" He asks in his normal voice, just by speaking to this guy you know he's highly intelligent.

"A break would be nice." I reply, causing Beetee to chuckle ever so lightly. "What I am here to do is ask if you can come up with something to keep my new recruits entertained. They keep beating the shit out of each other."

"You won't stop them doing that, but you can assist me and Soldier Hawthorne." Beetee replies. I take the seat next to him. "Could you remove the mask? It makes for a more civil conversation."

"Of course." I reply, sliding the mask off my face and placing it on the table. Gale seems to stare at my face for a moment, as if examining my features. "What do you need?"

Beetee and Gale explain the traps that they are designing on a series of computer and pieces of paper. Gale explains his ideas to me, the boy is a hunter I must admit, but in no point is he thinking of the impact these weapons will have. Well, the only impact he's thinking of is the body count.

"So, what do you think?" Gale asks with a small and proud smile. I honestly have mixed feelings about this. The traps themselves are pure genius, each one has the potential to be a devastating weapon on the battlefield, but if we look at this ethically, these weapons are more devastating on the hearts and minds than the Hunger Games. Yet I can only answer with:

"Build them, and drop them on the peacekeepers." I reply. Gale gives a proud nod and turns back to Beetee for a moment, who of which is handing me my mask.

"A sound echoed from it, I assume that you are being called for." Beetee says. I reply with a thankful nod and slide the mask over my face, Miles is on the other end.

"Move your ass, Mockingjay is on her way down to you." I slip out of this room quickly and dive into another room just in the nick of time, for the Mockingjay walks past, obviously covering her heavily bruised neck.

I feel sorry for the poor girl, and massively responsible, if it wasn't for me she would not be in this situation. Fuck, she wouldn't even be alive if it wasn't for me. Yet as I watch her walk into Beetee's Lair, I can't help feel slightly proud in knowing that I helped to create the Mockingjay. In a way, we are the same thing. We're both lost and broken souls looking for a way to save our homes, the difference is that she is succeeding.

I take the opportunity to slip out. Beetee was of no help to me when it comes to keeping my two new soldiers entertained, and to stop them from accidentally killing each other.

* * *

It's time for food by the time I finally am able to get my two peacekeepers to stop smacking each other. They both sit with me in the mess hall, and only now do I get to see their faces.

Both are bald with pale skin. The major difference between them is their facial structures, Michael is far more angled than Andrew and also has far more scars, I'm assuming this is because he would have seen more action.

"Taste nice?" Miles asks, trying to get a friendly conversation going with the silent peacekeepers. They both give a respectful nod in reply. I look up to Miles, who just rolls his eyes at me and carries on eating his stew.

"So when you all going back to the Districts?" Kate asks quietly from my right. I feel her slowly slide up the bench so that our legs are touching, I hope to god she'll be fine without me when I get back to the Districts. Miles answers for me, which I am glad of.

"We're not sure, I think it will be some time soon." He replies with a small smile to Kate, she smiles hopelessly back, I'm glad that Miles is trying his best to help her.

"Will we be fighting?" Michael asks from the side of me, I look to them and notice both Michael and Andrew staring at me with their dark brown eyes.

"That's the only thing that is certain." I reply as I place another pieces of stew into my mouth, swallowing it quickly to avoid burning my tongue. I feel Kate give my knee a quick nudge, so I turn back to face her.

"You'll be safe this time? I don't want you getting stuck in all kinds of 'ell again." I chuckle for a moment and lightly kiss her forehead.

"I'll be fine, darling. They haven't got me yet have they?" I reply with a small smile, completely ignoring that I had almost been killed in both of my last two missions. My track record is getting worse and worse the further into this war we go.

"Want me to answer that?" She asks back as a joke, but I can tell that there's a serious side to this question. I fall silent for a moment, my mouth moving up and down but no words seem to form. I turn to Miles for help, who just gives me a sheepish look and carries on eating his stew.

"Oh, so you're willing to jump in front of a bullet for me, but helping me with my fiance is a bit to much?" I ask with a small smile. Miles looks back up and ponders for a moment, his eyes darting between me and Kate.

"I can help," Miles begins as he places his spoon down and looks up to us, "but do you really want me to shoot Kate?"

"Well..." I quickly look to Kate, who is waiting for my answer impatiently. "Think we could hide the body?"

"Oi!" Kate says from my side as she playfully slaps my shoulder. I chuckle along with Miles for a moment as we both exchange cheeky looks I know I'll get a proper slap for that later, but by Christ was it worth it. "No sex for you."

"Oh now she's pulling out the big guns." Miles replies with a large grin plastered over his face. Kate rolls her head to face him with a victorious grin. "What?"

"I know someone who can pull the sex card on you." She replies with a confident smile. I tilt my head slightly and turn to face an ever blushing Miles. "He's gone red as a tomato."

"Who is she?" I ask, directing the question at both Kate and Miles. Miles eyes drop to his food and I can't help but smile, watching as a confident warrior becomes an embarrassed school boy.

"Girl called Eve Harding, she works in the cookhouse at District Seven." Kate adds proudly as she places a small chunk of meat in her mouth and chews with a confident smirk covering her face. I look up to Miles in surprise, looks like the cookhouse worker really did get bored of doing nothing in District 7.

"How'd you work it out?" Miles asks with a shameful smile, he does look like a sapling who's been caught doing something he shouldn't. Kate taps her nose.

"I work for intelligence, it's my job." She replies happily. I give her a quick nudge with my leg and she turns to face me, I give her a wink and she smiles back. Our little moment is soon spoilt by a soldier who comes to my side and taps my shoulder.

"Phoenix?" He asks with a small frown. We all turn to face the young soldier and I give a quick nod. "President Coin wants you, it's urgent."

"What's wrong?" I ask with a hint of worry.

"You're being deployed, sir. Alone."


	24. Peeta

"You don't mind this do you, Phoenix?" Coin asks with a forced concern look. Why she is asking I will never know, part of my deal is that I shadow the Mockingjay, which means I have to go to District 2 alone.

"Of course not, ma'am." I reply honestly. I'm looking forward to some time alone, to be able to be a hunter again, to be an assassin. The last part doesn't appeal to me as much as the rest, but at least I can now fight without having to worry about my men. I only have to worry about keeping two people alive. Myself and Katniss Everdeen. "Who else of value is going?"

"Soldier Hawthorne, she means a great deal to the Mockingjay, I want you to keep him alive as well." Coin replies as she starts scanning through the many pieces of paper on her desk. Gale's presence is going to have it's positives and negatives.

On the plus, he's fighting in a District where I can actually defend him. Rather than him being sent to District 7, but I'm sure that District 7 is being kept specifically for me now that the war in the north has come to a stand still following the capture of the dam.

"No contracts on this mission?" I ask, hoping to god that I won't have to murder another man in his bed. Coin looks over to one of her files and runs a finger down the list of names rested within the paper.

"A few, but I trust you can... Terminate... Their employment to the Capitol with ease?" She asks as she slides the file to me. I pick up the paper and begin reading through the names, Thread is still not on this bastard list.

"I'd need more information."

"You'll get it when you arrive in two with the Mockingjay." Coin replies quickly and sharply. I try to leave, but a question is playing on my mind, and Coin can sense this. "What is it?"

"May I see Peeta?" I ask innocently, almost child-like. Coin frowns for a moment.

"Why would _you_ want to see Peeta?" She asks with the frown still grasping her face. I have to admit, the question would seem quite strange, especially coming from a person with a history as twisted as mine, but I decide the keep calm throughout.

"I carried him out of that building." I reply with a sad tone hidden within my voice. Hopefully Coin will have at least a small amount of decency to allow me to visit the poor bugger. "I want to see him."

"That may be difficult, do you know about his condition?"

"It's not a condition." I retort with a small amount of spite in my voice. "He's been broken, but they can fix him."

"I suppose you can relate?" Coin asks, not in a sarcastic tone, but she understands my desire to defend those who can't defend themselves. "Fine, see what you can do, but don't expect any significant progress."

* * *

I took my chance, after seeing Kate and Miles to fill them in on what's happening I went straight to the hospital. They've tried a lot to help Peeta, and as I find myself standing next to Haymitch again, I can't notice how useless I feel.

"What have you tried?" I ask as I watch Peeta stare at the floor with no real sign of movement.

"A lot, kid. Peeta's screwed up and there's nothing we can do about it." Haymitch replies with sorrow as we both stare at the boy in the chair. I know what I'm going to do in my spare time at District 2, watch this boy's games and see who he really is.

"He saw me rescue him, maybe I could help?" I ask with a small glimmer of hope. Haymitch doesn't answer for a moment, and I just turn to face him.

"We could try." He says, all the hope that I had obviously hasn't reflected onto Haymitch. "We can't make it any worse, kid. Get in there."

And with that I'm entering the room, caked from head to toe in my armour, just as he would remember. I stand by the door as it closes behind me, my gaze not moving from Peeta at all. Peeta stares at the shining floor, his body showing no signs that he even knows I'm here. I've been warned on certain topics I shouldn't mention, I suppose we'll have to see how this goes.

"Peeta." I say with an authoritative tone, the one he should remember from back in the prison. He doesn't move, so I call his name again, but this time with more force. Peeta's head snaps to me as his eyes burrow into my mask and armour, scanning me like startled prey. "You remember me?"

"I thought you were a dream." Peeta answers as he stares into where my eyes should be, his eyes unblinking as I move slowly before him. My strides are long and powerful, and my shoulder held back with pride, he needs to see that not everyone around him is broken. "Something my mind came up with, I'm so confused."

"You have every right to be." I reply, I take a quick glance to my left and notice a chair in the corner of the room. I grab it and slide it in front of him. I then sit on it backwards with my arms crossed over the back of the chair. "How'd you feel?"

"Awful." He replies, which makes me chuckle for a moment, at least there's a decent conversation going. "I'm still confused though, who are you? You're not like everyone else I've seen."

"That's right." I reply as if I'm talking to a sapling in a hospital. "I'm Seth Greenlaw, I come from District Seven."

"District seven? I know someone from District seven, don't I?" He asks. My heartaches for the poor boy. I may have lost a few years, but I at least had a chance to get them back, he's lost everything.

"Johanna Mason." I reply. Nodding ever so slowly as Peeta nods along with me. "I knew her as a baby."

"You must be old then, but you don't seem it." He replies, which confuses him even more. I chuckle for a moment and this causes him to frown. "You seem like Haymitch. He was in the Hunger Games."

"Do you remember the Games?" I ask, instantly regretting my decision. The Games are a sore topic for any Victor, now I'm in for a hell of a bad conversation.

"I was in the Games, and Katni-"

"Do you remember the arena?" I try to interrupt, hoping to god that this kid is able to contain his pain the same way as I do.

"Katniss tr-"

"Peeta!" I roar, standing up and knocking the chair over. He eyes fly instantly to my glasses and I hear the doors open behind me. I lift my hand to the door without breaking my gaze from Peeta, who ever is there will know what it means.

"The... The... Arena."

"Yes. The arena." I reply, keeping my shoulders firmly where they are. "You can't forget that, because I remember it perfectly."

"Your arena? No. You can't be a Victor. The Victors are-"

"I remember it. Being thrown into that hell hole, with twenty-three people trying to kill you." I shout at him, it may seem insensitive to most, but I'm trying something that they haven't. "Only the strongest get out, you know what I mean?"

"I was pretending to be a Career."

"Aye, and I hunted Careers." I reply as I lower my hand and knee before Peeta, taking one of his hands in my gauntlet covered one. He tries to pull back but I hold on. "Remember that feeling, Peeta, remember that arena."

"I remember... A cave?" He replies, now this bit I have heard of. It's been played as propaganda before. That is where he and Katniss had their first snogging match.

"Don't think of the cave, Peeta. Think of the arena." I reply, gripping onto his hands harder. "Think of the Cornucopia, think of the blood, and the violence."

"I don't want to."

"Do it!" I command. His eyes glaze over for a moment and I know what he's thinking.

"Now think of beating it Peeta."

"No one wins the Games." Peeta replies angrily.

"Bull-shit! We won the Games! Only the strongest win the Games and we beat those fuckers!" I shout back, using a voice I only reserve for when I'm fighting. "We won! We are the strongest! Nothing can kill us! We don't break!"

"We don't break." He repeats quietly. Good, that means I'm getting an idea implanted into his skull.

"We don't break!" I shout back.

"We don't break." He says a bit louder with a grin over his face, I may have got somewhere. Suddenly his expression changes to depression and he rips his hands from mine. "I need to be alone."

And just like that, Peeta is gone. His pupils becomes larger and he stares into the floor again, completely ignoring my presence. I let out a sigh and stand straight, turning and marching from the room as the door slams behind me.

"Well..." Haymitch starts, he's obviously quite shocked at what just happened. "That was the best we've got so far, not even Delly could pull that off."

"Don't try it again." I order as I turn to face Haymitch. I know it's not my place to throw orders around, but right now Peeta doesn't need another military pep talk. "He's not improved at all, in fact I may have confused him some more, we need another method."

"Since when were we a _we_?" Haymitch asks. For the first time in a very long time I actually feel offended by a comment.

"Since _I_ pulled him out of that prison." I reply. A door opens to our side and I spot a familiar face. "Hello little Everdeen."

"Hello Mr. Greenlaw." Prim replies with a happy smile, which causes much confusion from Haymitch. "Have you spoken to Peeta?"

"I tried, no luck I'm afraid, but tell your mam I got him out of there." I reply with a small thumbs up. Prim smiles back to me.

"She knows, thank you for saving Peeta and the other Victors."

"Did you thank Gale?" I ask as I put on my sweeter voice which I use to speak to saplings. Prim nods for a moment which makes me laugh. "Okay, well I need to speak to Haymitch, so can I have a moment please, little sapling?"

"Okay." Prim replies as she leaves the room. I smile as I watch her walk through the doors, I would love to have a daughter like her. Even though I don't see that happening for a long time.

"She knows you?" Haymitch asks from behind me, i can only assume that the face he's wearing is that of confusion.

"Aye. I got her parents together."

* * *

"I may have got him to smile, but that's about it."

"You don't realise how large of a step that is, kid." Haymitch counters as he points towards the boy through the window, who is still examining the floor as if his life depending on it. "Not even Delly, his oldest friend, could get him to smile!"

"Aye, but now look at him. Can you see any sign of emotion at all?" I argue back, now I'm pointing at Peeta and he doesn't have a fucking clue. "Shouting him out of this isn't going to work, we need another way out."

"What do you suggest then? More to the point, what do you know about hijacking?" Haymitch counters. Even though the argument seems rather childish, he has a perfectly good point. I sigh for a moment.

"Nothing, but no one knows anything about hijacking. Apart from how much it fucks a person up." I retort. Me and Haymitch have always had two very different ways of dealing with a situation, as shown on how we dealt with the batch of survivors guilt that we both shared from surviving our separate arenas. "Face it Haymitch, we're not doctors, we're useless!"

"Maybe we are." Haymitch finally caves. A sad silence fills the room as we both look back to Peeta, there's nothing we can do for him. Which means I won't be able to keep yet another one of the promises I have made. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Aye, I got a deployment to prepare for, to protect your Victor." I reply. Haymitch seems to smile for a moment, seems he feels comfortable knowing that I am the one who's going to be protecting the Mockingjay. "Will you keep me informed on Peeta? I'd like to know how he's doing."

"I promised Katniss I'd keep her informed, I'll do the same with you." Haymitch replies, now it's my turn to smile.

* * *

And by the next day I was on a hovercraft escorting the Mockingjay into District 2. It'll be a long trip, and considering there's only me being transported in this hovercraft I can pretty much do what ever I want.

So I decide to do something productive, I withdraw the small holo from my pocket and place it in front of my as I sit cross legged and lean my back against one of the chairs. I press the several buttons, typing in exactly what I want to watch.

Then it appears, and a chill runs down my spine as those bastard words are said once more.

"I volunteer as Tribute!" She screams as the peacekeepers try to hold her back. There she is, the girl on fire. I sigh and slump further into the chair, I have a lot of research to do.


	25. Hunt With Me

Strangely enough I find myself doing exactly the opposite of what I thought I would do.

"For fucks sake!" I shout as watch the group of Careers close in on Katniss, Peeta being one of them. I'm seated in a small cave, watching my holo with great detail.

Katniss and I have been here for about a week, and things have been going pretty slowly. The District is at a stalemate, much like District 7, but here I'm not very helpful. Katniss hasn't seen much action, and the only combat she's been involved in is against the local geese population, who of which are losing.

I turn back to the holo and watch Katniss struggle to escape the Careers. I have no idea why I'm so on edge when I watch this, I know who wins, I'm protecting the two Victors after all. Besides, how they won was no secret either, it was a massive kick in the bollocks to the Capitol actually.

I hear a few rounds go off somewhere in the distance. Instantly my head is facing towards the morning sun, trying to pin point where the rounds came from. Then I hear a few more rounds, suddenly the sky is alive with the sound of led.

I sigh in relief, the firefight is taking place miles away from the cave I'm staying in. I quickly glance down the thirty foot cliff face into the next cave, where Gale and Katniss are sat talking. Gale knows I'm here, but most of the District has been kept in the dark to my presence.

Katniss turns to look at something, and I spot Gale quickly glance up in my direction. He nods to me, and I nod back, she'll be safe for tonight with him around.

I slide further back into my cave and continue watching the 74th Hunger Games, impressed on how skilled this girl is at survival. Although climbing a tree to escape the Careers was a bad idea in the long run. I've managed to kill bears by shooting them out of the trees that they are hiding in.

For a moment I pause the holo and just stare at the sixteen year old girl in front me, how you've changed Mockingjay. It's only when you look back do you realise how different you are to then. For me it was easy, I was once a cold hearted killer, but now I know what it means to feel regret, remorse, and heartbreak.

Of course there were happy moments; loving Kate, befriending Blight, opening up to Callum, fighting alongside Miles, but even these moments seem fragile when I think of what I had to lose in order to gain them.

I still believe I shouldn't be here. This rebellion shouldn't have happened. I shouldn't have proposed to Kate. No, my fate was cruelly taken from me when Anona, a name I remember very well, shoved that scythe through Claire's back so hard it burst from her chest. That should have been my day to die, that should have been the day that the fire finally claimed my body, but instead I survived. I lived, and because of me, so many have died.

For a moment I wonder if Katniss feels the same as me. Does she feel responsible for this entire war? Surely she was the spark that I couldn't be, she was the spark of rebellion, but I was it's tinder.

I'm snapped out of my melancholy when I hear a large explosion. My hand instinctively flies to my rifle, but stops short when I see how far away the explosion is. Yet again, there's a fight going on around an area of the District known as the Nut. A clever name, I just wished that these people put more thought into their tactics than their propaganda, I've had enough of being force fed bullshit.

I turn off the holo for now, the sun's rising and I know that the Mockingjay will be hunting, as she normally is at this time. This is the one day that she'll be with only one guard, me, hidden in the shadows. As opposed to the guard who normally is glued to her side.

* * *

I follow her for a moment, my weapon is drawn and I remain on the ridge above her, keeping as silent as possible. At the moment, Katniss is stalking down a small canyon, trying her best not to startle the geese that are rested before her.

I watch from my point, crouching down as I observe her technique. She's downwind, moving with small and graceful footsteps. Slowly, she draws the string on her bow, we're running low on food so she needs to bag a few geese. Which is why I've brought my crossbow, one so I can eliminate any threats silently, and two so that if I have a chance for a kill I can take it without spoiling the meat.

Katniss straightens herself up and lets an arrow fly. It embeds itself in the nearest goose, but startles the rest, she won't get another kill today. So I break rank and lend a hand.

The bolt flies straight and true, crashing straight through the skull of one of the geese that took off. The animals spirals to the ground and lands with a large crack.

As suspected, Katniss instantly loads another arrow and begins searching for the source of the bolt.

"I'll come down if you promise not to shoot me." I call with a large grin on my face, watching as she scans the cliff-face with great detail.

"I'll find you anyway." She calls back causing me to laugh even more. I load another crossbow bolt and wait for a moment. At the moment, I'm having flashbacks of me in the Games, scaling the cliff faces like a squirrel. I hang myself to the rock and remain motionless as she moves beneath me, unaware of my presence.

I slide down the rocks and land with a crash, making her spin on the spot. I lift drop my crossbow to the ground and lift my hands above my head. I'm rewarded for my ambush with a confused look from the poor girl.

"Relax." I say as I stand vertical, leaving my crossbow on the ground. Obviously she's still a bit suspicious about the tomahawk, sword, and pistol attached to my armour.

"Who are you?" She asks, not lowering the bow away from me, which worries me greatly. Please don't tell me I'll get killed for my curiosity, that'll be a really shit way to die.

"One of your guards." I reply as I lower my hands to my side. Katniss pulls the bow to it's max length, she's going to unleash that bastard arrow on me if I don't get this right.

"I told them no guards for this trip." She counters with an angry expression. I laugh for a moment, knowing that she can't see the humour behind my mask. I just shrug for a moment, trying to be as cool as possible.

"That's why you weren't meant to see me." I point to my crossbow for a moment and tilt my head, hoping she'll understand what it means.

"Who gave you the order?" She asks, now this where I am willing to lie.

"My commanding officer, they told me you didn't like having a guard, so they sent me." I reply, hoping to the love of fuck that she'll believe the lie.

"Oh, really?" She asks in a very sarcastic tone. "And I should believe you why?"

"Because Gale would be really pissed off that you shot one of his friends." I reply, instantly Katniss lowers her bow and stares at me with intense eyes. I point to the crossbow and she replies with a small nod.

"How do you know Gale?" She demands. I have to admit, I can understand why Peeta and Gale are fighting over this girl. I pick up my crossbow and check to make sure there's no damage, Beetee has done a good job.

"We've been on a few mission together, Hawthorne and I, part from that there's no connection." I reply as I quickly double check the weapon by firing the string off and reloading with another bolt. I look up to Katniss to find her staring at me with strange eyes. "I'm just a soldier, really."

"You don't sound like you're from District Thirteen." Katniss counters as she slowly moves towards the dead goose, her eyes still not peeling away from me. I laugh for a moment as I wonder past her and to the next goose.

"I'm a volunteer from District Seven, born and raised." I reply as I inspect the damage from the bolt to the head, or rather the lack of the head. I peer back to Katniss, but she still seems unconvinced. "I promise on that."

"There's no way District Thirteen would give a volunteer that much armour. My uniform doesn't have that much metal. Who are you really?" She asks with an authoritative tone. I admit, I'm rather impressed by her tenacity, and her intelligence.

"Seth Evergreen." I reply. She frowns again for a moment, but it is true, I am also known as Evergreen. My mother's name, very similar to her fathers. "I know, strange isn't it."

"Very." She replies, her eyes still unblinking.

"Truth is, the guys in charge don't see District Two as safe, so I'm one of the guys covering you while your here." Her bow lowers again ever so slightly, with a confused expression. "I'll pull the cliche, if I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead by now."

"Somehow I believe it, that doesn't change anything though."

"I know, just trust me in that I'm on your side, and I know the men need some meat." I say as I hold up the goose. Finally, Katniss lets the bow hang loose and I'm able to relax. "Not to insult your skill, you're obviously good, but we'll get more kills if we work together."

"You want me to hunt with you?"

"Aye, lass, come hunt with me."

* * *

It's late morning by the time we've finished off all the geese in the area. We remained in silence for most of the hunt, but both of seemed to work together with great ease. I'm guessing that she's hunted with Gale, considering how used she is to hunting alongside a partner.

We're back at base when I finally drop off all of the geese we've collected. Katniss sits down and begins plucking through the feathers, trying her best to get the geese ready for cooking.

"You're good." Katniss comments as she watches me slide my crossbow over my back. I know I'm going to get a massive bollocking for breaking rank like this. "What now?"

"Now, we go our separate ways and say nothing to anyone." I reply, quickly scanning the area to make sure no one can see us. Katniss frowns for a moment, obviously confused at what's happening.

"Why? What's so important that no one can know about you?" She asks with an almost innocent tone. I smile under my mask, no one else has questioned me like this.

"If the enemy find out that I'm guarding you, it'll put us both at risk." I reply. My lie almost makes sense, so I hope she'll believe me.

"We're always at risk. It's war after all." She counters with yet another fool proof argument, but I understand the mechanisms that turn the clock of warfare better than she ever will.

"Aye, but there's no point increasing it by giving valuable intel away." I reply, turning my attention back to the girl staring up to me. I sigh for a moment and smile under my mask at Everdeen's beautiful daughter. She has no idea how much we've effected each others lives. "Just keep it quiet from everyone, okay?"

"Will I see you again?" Katniss asks, yet another sensible question. I shrug for a moment.

"I'll be covering you while you're here, but I doubt you'll see me." I reply as I quickly glance around yet again. I turn my head back to her and find the frown still across her brow. "After all this is done? Who knows, we may bump into each other."

"You're still wearing the mask. How will I know it's you?" She asks. I really should have seen this question coming, so instead of granting her wish, I reply with a quick bow.

"Don't speak or think about me from here on out, and I promise we'll meet again." I whisper as I rise back up and take off into the canyons.

* * *

It doesn't take me long to find my next target, and by target you must understand what I mean.

"Gale!" I shout, wanting him to turn around and face me, luckily he does. He seems to smile for a moment as I approach. "I've spoken to our Mockingjay."

"What!?" Gale nearly shouts in surprise. He then frowns with a slight hint of annoyance. "You said you didn't want her knowing you."

"I didn't but she was losing geese." I reply as I wave off the comment. Gale just stares at me with his jaw slightly dropped. "Look, just don't mention me, I told her not to mention me to anyone."

"Think she'll forget you that easy?" Gale asks with a confident smile, as if he knows he'll always be in her heart. Luckily for me I'm not interested in that shit.

"Yeah, I'll just be another guard in her memory." I reply with a small smile. Then a strange feeling clouds my judgement, I don't want her forgetting me. It's a feeling, a connection, that hasn't crossed my heart for a long time. It's not the feeling of love, as in with me and Kate, it's something different.

It can't be what i think it is. I turn away from Gale for a moment as the feeling builds in the pit of my stomach. Images fill my mind of the two girls, and I know that I'll never be able to get the Mockingjay out of my head now. For a single tear builds in my eye and I feel the need to defend bubbling in my blood.

Gale calls from behind me, but my eyes are full of images of the past. The same girl crossing my mind, that same smile, that same hair, the feeling of her arms, the softness in her voice, the hollowness of her eyes when she died.

For a moment my voice is sore, but then I whisper that name between the stutters.

"Claire."


	26. Gathering Intel

I spend the evening enjoying a gentle stroll around the mountains, my rifle in my hands ready, and my radio on. District 2 is a lovely place I must admit, nothing like home except for the mountains, but I can't help but enjoy the scenery.

I'm nearly a mile behind enemy lines, so there's no chance that I'll be ambushed. So I climb to the top of the hill and sit against the rocks, looking over the District as the moonlight rests softly on it's surface.

"Earth to Phoenix, come in Phoenix." A familiar and soothing voice comes from the radio. I sigh in happiness as I slide further into the rock. "You awake, babe?"

"I'm here darling." I reply to Kate with a large smile over my lips.

"Decided to answer this evening, have you?" She teases from over the radio. How I wish I could hold her right now. "It's been two weeks since I've seen you."

"I know, my darling, I'll be home soon." I reply with a content smile, this is most likely the first time I have ever referred to District Thirteen as my home. For the most part of the time since I was knocked out of the sky, District Seven has just been a goal, rather than a home. How I wish it could be my home again.

"You sure about that? District Two is still at a stand-still from what we've managed to pick up from 'ere." She replies, I can sense the frown growing across her brow as she speaks and it makes me smile for a moment.

"Aye, we'll be taking the Nut soon, and then we'll finally be done here." I reply with a hopeful tone, one that I hope she will soon adopt. She tuts over the radio, I bet that was difficult to get across the radio, sometimes these bloody things can' pick up explosions let alone small voices.

"And then you'll be back in Seven. Face it, babe, we're not going to see each other for a while." I sigh again, knowing that she is right, I won't be seeing my fiance for a long time to come. Now the Mockingjay is permanently in the field, so am I.

"I know, darling, but we knew this was coming." I reply honestly, this is one of the major downsides to being a soldier. I understand why peacekeepers aren't meant to have families now, they don't have anything to hold them back.

"Yeah we did, but you'll be fine." She says with that positive attitude I tried to get across. "Nothing can kill my Phoenix."

"Nothing can kill your Phoenix." I echo with a small smile as I take in the view one more time. We're both silent for a moment, before Kate finally speaks up once more.

"I'll leave you for a while, babe, you must be tired." She says in a soothing voice. I'm not tired, but we both know that I need to keep my focus if I'm to really protect the Mockingjay from all the Capitol bastards who are attempting to kill her. "Good night."

"Good night, my love." I let echo through the radio as she leaves me to my thoughts, something that I need right now.

I withdraw my small holo and resume watching Katniss Everdeen, now she's cutting through the tree to drop a nest of Trackers onto the Careers below, does she know that Peeta's protecting her?

I take a moment to think that, maybe this is what I should have done. Maybe I should have left Hasta with Claire and pretended to be hunting her down, maybe then she wouldn't have tried to save me that day.

I snap out of my trance before the tears start to flow. I can't blame myself for trying to protect her in such a way, I can blame myself for failing however.

I look back up to the District, the war that engulfs it like a vice is my fault, all because I didn't die in that fucking arena like I should have. Hell, I should have burnt in that forest with the rest of my family. So much would be different then, so much would be better.

Suddenly my radio burst into life, this time with my other talkative "friend" on the other end.

"Adviser to Phoenix, come-"

"I'm here, I'm here. What do you need?" I ask impatiently, I'd rather not be speaking to officials at the moment. In fact, a night left to my senses would be quite nice, but I sacrificed my freedom years ago, so I can't complain.

"There's a cloaked hovercraft on it's way to you. You'll be dropped in behind enemy lines. Gather intel on the numbers in the Nut and then we'll airlift you out. Any questions? Over." I don't even have chance to stop him while he's dishing the orders out.

"Aye, where will I be getting the information from?" I ask in a very condescending tone. Those further up the chain have a habit of telling us what they want done but not how to do it then, then we get punished for not doing it the way they wanted it, even if we succeeded.

"Computers, terminals, it will effectively be the same mission as when you infiltrated the base in District Seven, over." Adviser replies, at least now I know how they want this mission done; Quiet, and without an enormous amount of casualties.

"Get the hovercraft here then, Adviser, I'll get the Intel."

* * *

It only took a few minutes to reach the drop zone, but this is far different to my infiltration in District 7.

Where as my last infiltration was extremely sneaky, this was far different.

The hatch to the hovercraft opens and I fall directly from the hovercraft down a fifteen foot drop and crash through an old hut with a loud smash. I lay on my back for a moment, my entire body aching and my head is pounding within my skull.

I sit upright and shake my head slowly back and forth, hoping to god that my head will stop pounding the inside of my skull. I've always hated head-aches, cuts and bruises you can apply pressure and get that sweet relief as pain fades, you can't compress your skull.

The hovercraft flies away and I scratch my mask in confusion. Why the hurry? I mean there's-

A massive explosion that rips through the sky, suddenly the hovercraft is falling out of the sky and I'm watching a ball of fire climb into the sky as the shock-wave smashes into me and forces me to slide into the wall.

I begin coughing frantically as I struggle to watch the fall from the sky, everything seems to fall in slow motion as the fire slowly disappears and the effect of what just happened hits me. I follow the smoke trail through the air and notice something very strange, whatever caused that explosion didn't come from this District, it came from the Capitol.

"Adviser to Phoenix, what just happened?" Adviser's voice echoes throughout my head as I struggle to get the buzzing out of my ear, something that's quite common after an explosion.

"Phoenix here, something just hit the hovercraft." I reply as I draw my sword and use it as a makeshift walking stick, shaking as I pull myself from the dust and stand upright, or at least attempt to.

"The hovercraft has gone dark, is there anything left? Over." He asks with a worried tone. I'm silent for a moment, there's still smoke in the sky, but the hovercraft is completely gone. The only sign anyone or anything was ever there is the small chunks of metal thrown all over the District. "Phoenix?"

"Negative." I struggle to reply as I take in the devastation. I'm surprised most of Panem didn't hear that. "Hovercraft is gone, something shot it straight out of the sky." Adviser is silent for a moment, I hate bearing the bad news.

"Okay, listen in Phoenix." He begins, instantly my head is cleared and I'm prepared for whatever order they are throwing at me. This is obviously something extremely fucking dangerous. "We need to you to gather any information on what ever the hell that is, they must have targeting system working in the District, do you understand?"

"What will I be looking for?" I ask as I sheath my sword and pull my rifle from my back, god knows when the peacekeepers will show up to capture or kill me.

"In all honesty, Phoenix, I have no idea." He replies, for once Adviser has no information on a topic, I used to swear that guy was omniscient.

I look to the sky as the rain slowly begins to fall, sliding off my armour like mini dust on my armour falls away from me as I turn and look towards the nut, it's only about a ten minute jog away.

"Look for a terminal of some sort, then just put your holo on it, do you understand me, Phoenix?" He asks with a very serious tone, I've never heard Adviser speak like this before.

"Aye I got it." I reply as I check my weapon and begin walking towards the Nut. I'll be in for one hell of a fight tonight.

* * *

I find an old and destroyed mineshaft with a long rope hanging down from a metal crane like structure. The hole's too large for me to reach the rope normally, so I decide to do the next best thing. Run and jump.

I manage to catch the rope with a groan as I begin slowly sliding down the rope, allowing the metal in my armour to let me descend with relative ease.

It doesn't take long to reach the bottom of the tunnel. It's pitch black down here, except for the strange faint glow at the end of the tunnel. I take one last glance to the sky, give a quick nod to the falling rain, and then begin walking into the tunnel.

I manage to jog to the light and dive behind a rock as I notice the checkpoint filled with peacekeepers. None of them have spotted the silhouette that I have become slowly sliding towards them, preparing to remove them from this fucked up world that we have been forced to share.

There's only three peacekeepers, and I'm a fast shot, I should be able to kill them all in quick succession and then move the bodies int the dark. With my plan set in motion I begin.

The silencer works wonders, and three rounds contact with three peace keeper heads and blow them wide open. The only sounds made are the rounds bouncing off the stones, which could be mistaken for anything, and the bodies hitting the floor, which is something far more unique.

I jog silently to the barricade and leap over it, landing with a roll on the other side. I replace my rifle with my pistol, it's going to be far easier to use this in these close quarter situations.

It takes a few minutes for me to hide the bodies, and with each one I drag into the darkness I can't help but feel sorrow fill in my heart. Why is killing become so much harder for me? I used to do it with relative ease, now I can't help but feel pieces of me die alongside the people I kill.

I shake my head back and forth to snap out of the day dream, I haven't felt this since I changed in the arena. What is happening to me?

I climb back over the barricade and scan the tunnels, each one has a series of small lights hanging from the roof, and I'm effectively going through this blind. I have no back up, and no idea where I'm needed to go.

I decide to take a left and hug the wall as I walk with my pistol at the ready, I'd prefer to keep in the shadows as much as possible, they are my ally after all.

I keep up the jog, until I find a man leaning against a wall, blood pouring down his face. I can't help myself, and jog up to him and inspect his skull. The man looks at me surprised, and I can't blame him, who'd expect an armoured assassin to appear from the shadows and perform first aid?

"What happened?" I ask I rip a piece of fabric from the coat around his waste and begin wrapping it around his face. The man chuckles for a moment as he recalls his experience.

"Peacekeepers caught me stealing rations, beat me up and left me here." He replies as I yank on the fabric, making sure the knot I've done it tight enough to support itself. I release his head and straighten his body upright. "Can't keep a good miner down though."

"I can see that, I need your help." I reply as I move myself so I'm directly in front of him. He raises his good eyebrow to me.

"I suppose I owe you one, what do you need?" He asks with a small chuckle as he coughs up some blood and dirt. His condition is far worse than I had thought.

"I'm looking for a computer that stores all the Capitol's military information on it, numbers weapons, that sort of thing. Do you know where it is?" I ask with a bleak amount of hope, even though I doubt a simple miner would know anything about this. The miner shakes his head back and forth.

"I don't know exactly what you're looking for, but I have a good idea on where it might be." He winces out as he adjusts himself to be come more comfortable. "There's a bunker in the centre of the mountain, I heard that's where the peacekeepers keep all of their high-ranking guys, I'm sorry, I don't know the term."

"I don't think the wording matters, how easy is it to get into?" I ask with a small glimmer of hope. The man laughs for a moment.

"We used to have good lighting here." He says while looking up at the flickering bulb that hangs above us both like a failing heaven. "War has taken it's tole, most of the system down here don't work. The computers to keep the doors locked have gone haywire, you should be able to sneak in rather easy."

"Okay, how do I get to the bunker?" I ask with a small frown from under my mask. I listen carefully as he fills me in on the directions, I should find getting there rather easy, as long as I avoid the peacekeepers that swarm like ants.

"You'll be fine, we've all heard of you, if I'm right." He replies with a cheeky smile. I tilt my head over ever so slightly. "Phoenix of District Seven? You were a rumour among the Districts, most people thought you were rebel propaganda, but some of us believe you were real."

"I'm a myth, ai?" I reply with a small amount of pride, looks like I can still be the symbol that I was meant to be all those years ago. The nods frantically as he coughs more blood up.

"We heard that some guy called the Phoenix invaded District Seven single handed, and then called in an army after executing a peacekeeper." He says with a hint of wonder in his eyes, in fact, I had just returning form murdering a man in his bed, but I think I won't destroy the hope in his eyes.

"Something like that." I reply, which makes the smile on his face grow even further, I feel sorry for this poor man, and judging by how his expression has changed he knows it.

"I know you're here to ease me off, but you don't have to."

"I may not know you, but I don't like leaving men to die alone." I reply with a sorrowful voice. The miner smiles back to me for a moment and pushes me gently so I'm forced to stand.

"Go free my home, that's the best thing you can do for me." He replies, for a moment I'm stunned, not knowing if I should move or not, but as I watch the light fade from his eyes I know there's no point in me staying here, I have a District to free.

* * *

I follow the instructions to the letter, and after some silent manoeuvres, I finally find myself seated outside the bunker with two dead guards by my side. One with a tomahawk wound, and the other with a sword wound.

I slip through the large doors, turns out they were unlocked anyway.

As the doors shut behind me I'm stuck in a long corridor with three peacekeepers standing it it. Before they have chance to lift their weapons I open fire on them, killing all three with extreme precision.

I sprint to the end of the character and smash through the door, killing the peacekeeper on the other side. I withdraw my holo and place it on the nearest computer, suddenly my radio lights up, now I've got signal again.

"Adviser to Phoenix, you read?" He asks, his voice instantly makes me feel ten times better.

"Aye I'm here, can you scan through the files?" I ask hoping to god that he'll be able to get that end of the mission for me.

"Yeah I'll get it done, keep the holo guarded while I work on it." And with that he's gone. I take a moment to inspect the room. It's rather large, about the size of a large Capitol bedroom.

I dive behind the table in the centre of the room and set up my rifle. I rest on the table with my knees bent, praying that no one will come around the corner.

For a moment everything is silent, no one is coming, but then I hear something strange coming from above me. I glance up at the checkered ceiling, listening to the small bangs from above me.

Suddenly something breaks through the ceiling and lands on the table in front of me. I stare in surprise as a replica of me, in white armour with a set of red glasses, turns to face me with two swords drawn.

I go to point my rifle at the figure but he kicks it away and I'm forced to draw my sword and tomahawk. The man laughs in a gruff voice and jumps down in front me, swinging his swords which I am forced to parry.

The two of us get caught in this deadly dance for a moment, and it reminds me so vividly of my fight with Ludo that I'm having rouble distinguishing between the real image and the hallucination that has appeared before my eyes.

Who ever this mysterious swordsman is, he impresses me greatly. His skills are on par with mine. We both continue this as we circle the table, or sometimes clear it, all the time the Adviser is shouting in my ear.

I slide beneath his swing, and bring my sword into his knee. The man fall to one knee which allows me to embed my tomahawk in in his neck. It kills the man instantly and he falls to his face in a pool of blood.

I ignore the shouting voice in my ear and rip his mask off, frowning at the face before me. A pale bald man in his mid thirties lies before me with wide eyes. Finally the voice in my head breaks through and I can understand what is being shouted into my ears.

"Phoenix!"

"Aye, aye, I'm here. I got jumped." I reply as I shake my head clear of the visions of Ludo appearing before my eyes. My head begins to pound and I instantly know that I'm going to have trouble fighting my way out of here.

"Is everything okay? The upload has stopped, we've got the information." Adviser replies through the radio, shouting into the microphone. "Get the hell out of there!"

* * *

A long line of corpses later, and a few collapses onto the floor from the massive pains in my head, and I find myself scaling the rope towards the pouring rain. I'm gripping onto the rope with a powerful grasp as I struggle to pull myself up into the sky.

Each pull on my arms makes me feel that tiny bit more free, and as the rain stops and the sky opens to show the moon I can't help but laugh out loud as I pull myself into the silver moonlight that showers over me like a blanket.

My hands wrap around the metal that holds the rope and I laugh even more as I pull myself onto the beam and stand towards the moon, a sense of freedom flowing through my bones as I finally understand what it means to be truly unbound. I stand as I watch a hovercraft descend before me.

"Adviser to Phoenix, you did it, we hacked into the guns computer systems." There's a brief moment of silence as I feel the wind wrap itself around my armour. "You saved the District."


	27. Fight For Her

I watch the sun rise over the District and I shower in it's rays that fall upon the snow on the ground at my feet. I let out a long drawn sigh and watch the clouds part. It feels good to be alive.

"I spent time with Katniss last night, but she doesn't seem to care that much." Gale says from my side as he watches the ball of fire rise into the sky along with me.

"She's stressed, don't expect her to be too loving right now." I reply as I glance back down to the snow. It's amazing how the rain didn't wash it all away last night, and I'm more amazed by the fact that I'm still alive after last night. I then glance to Gale. "She's in the middle of a war, I think she's got more important things on her mind."

"We're all in this war, and you and Kate seem to get along fine." Gale retorts. I can almost feel my heart skip when I hear her name be mentioned. I can understand what Gale means by this comment, me and Kate are as strong as can be even if the world is trying to rip us apart.

"Me and Kate have been together since long before this war started." I reply, thinking back to when I used to live happily in District Seven's Victor's Village along with the love of my life and my best friends. How things have changed. "We're all that's left of that time."

"There's loads of people left from when you were born."

"You're missing the point." I reply, feeling my frustration grow already. "Me and Kate, we're all that's left of our attempted uprising. Everyone else who was involved, except for William and the Butcher of course, have been dead for a long time."

"And that's what is keeping you together?" He asks with a frown over his face. I stare blankly at him for a moment, before turning my whole body to face him.

"What? No." I reply, shocked at the question he had just asked me. "I love her, and I always will, so shut the fuck up about Kate before I make sure you'll never speak her name, or anyone else's, _ever_ again."

"Wow." Gale takes a step back, obviously slightly worried about how easily I can snap when someone mentions the girl that I love more than I love living. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it."

"Good. Now, haven't you got a meeting today?" I say, calming down drastically and unclenching my fists, which I hadn't noticed that I had clenched. Gale notices the change in my body language and takes a step closer. I let out a long drawn sigh. "I'm sorry, it's been a long week."

"Rumour is you went to the Nut yesterday." He replies as he inspects me, watching me like two wolves after a brutal battle. "Any truth in that?"

"Aye, it's true. I managed to take out some massive gun the Capitol was using." I reply as I let my temper cool, it feels good to be back in control again.

"There's no chance of it being used on us again?"

"None, as far as I know." I reply as I feel what ever tension was building around us drain from the air. Yet I can feel there's something else he wants to know.

"You know when we saved the Victors?" He asks innocently enough. I nod along as the words come from his mouth. "Why couldn't you save Johanna?"

* * *

_Most of the rooms are empty, yet as we reach the end, I have to stop and grasp onto one of the jail cell bars._

_"Fuck!" I shout as the images flush through my mind, I look back up to the poor girl in front of me, even though she's technically older than me. Baby Johanna, tortured in such a way. "Heath, Gale, get Johanna."_

_"I promis-"_

_"Gale, get Johanna, I can't." I reply, looking up to him. Even though my mask is on, he must be able to tell I'm pleading with him. Gale senses my pain and gives me a quick nod. I turn and start smashing the gates with my sword and tomahawk._

* * *

I snap from my trance and look back to Gale, who still has the questioning look planted onto his face. I sight for a moment, he hasn't developed the problems that usually come free of charge with being a Victor, and then being a soldier only adds to it even more.

"You remember the story I told you?" I ask as I slide myself onto the floor and sit in the soft, crisp snow. "About what happened before all this?"

"Yeah, I remember." Gale replies as he lowers himself to sit next to me.

"Well, Johanna's father and I were good friends, and I knew Johanna when she was a baby." I reply, turning my head to face Gale, but he stares back at me in confusion. "Mason was a good man, a family man, and he deserved to raise his daughter in peace."

"I've never met anyone like you. You're good, very good actually, at being a rebel, but you don't want it?" Gale questions as he stares to me. I understand his comment, make a living from what you do best after all, but his comment is a rather silly one.

"You fighting this war to free the Districts?" I retort, making a small frown grow upon his face. "Or are you fighting just because _you_ enjoy it?"

"A bit of both, I guess. You know what I mean?" Gale asks, and sadly I must nod along with understanding. I hate war, I hate all this death, but there's something about it that I can't help but feel attracted to. Once this war is over I have no idea how I will satisfy this hunger.

"I get it, there's something... primal... that seems to call to you, isn't there?" I ask with a look of understanding. Gale nods, and the two of us phase out for a brief moment in time. Suddenly Gale snaps back to reality.

"Right, now, I have a briefing to attend. See you later?" He asks with a small smile. I give a respectful nod to my brother-in-arms.

"Later." I repeat.

* * *

It's been some time since I've seen Gale, and judging by the look on Katniss' face she's not too happy with the outcome. She stand on the Justice Building and watches as the fire erupts over the mountainside and causes the largest fall of snow that I've ever seen in my life.

I'm standing at the foot of the Justice Building, and I can't help but stare in awe at the fire and snow which dances it's way down the side of the mountain. The echo finally reaches me and that loud boom fills my ears, it was true show of power.

I decide the hide away from the suffering in the large marble Justice Building, enjoying the amazing design of such an old building. I wonder if our ancestors made wonders as miraculous as this? Maybe, somewhere in the world, the ruins of there once great civilisations still stands tall, a monument to humanities defiance against extinction.

It takes a moment for Katniss to walk down the stairs of the Justice Building. Luckily she misses my presence and continues as I slowly lean further onto the wall to the right side of the door. I watch her for a moment, and see as Boggs tries to offer her a blanket, but she obviously doesn't want to be disturbed.

"Greenlaw, it's Haymitch." I hear over the radio so suddenly that it almost makes me jump out of my skin. I sigh for a moment as I regain my composure. "Greenlaw?"

"Everything okay, Haymitch?" I ask quietly as I keep my eyes on Katniss.

"Just thought you'd want to know, we've managed to get Peeta to recognise a song Katniss' father used to sing." Haymitch informs me. I smile as I think back to the day that Everdeen and Mrs. Everdeen got engaged, it was a special day for everyone.

"It's a start." I reply as my smile fades, Everdeen was yet another person I failed to protect.

"It's a start." Haymitch repeats, and then the radio falls silent, and I'm left to my thoughts, much like our little Mockingjay.

It's well after nightfall that Katniss is forced to stand outside of the train station from the Nut, praying that someone had survived the impact. In all honesty I wouldn't be surprised if no one survived, but I still keep my guard up in case something goes drastically wrong.

Into midnight, and still nothing, but Katniss' prep team did arrive and attached some device to her and forced her to stand in front of the Justice Building. The lights are all shining in different ways, and it takes a moment for their plan to make sense to me.

A man comes through the station, his gun trained on Katniss, but I know I can't intervene unless things get real bloody. The two speak for a moment, and Katniss gives a long speech on how evil she is. I laugh for a moment, there's nothing evil about the girl. If you wanted to see evil pretending to be good, all you need to do is look in my direction.

The man slowly begins to lower his gun, and I smile as I wonder if Katniss has done it, if we have peace; but as more people exit the tunnel, I know I'm wrong.

A man behind the one talking with our Mockingjay is the one who makes the impact, and I'm off the mark like a wolf. My rifle is in my shoulder and I've opened fire on their direction. I sprint to Katniss and watch as the light fades from her eyes.

"Katniss!" I scream at her, letting go of my rifle for a moment and trying to keep her conscious. A fire fight breaks out and I know that this is going to be shown over the whole of Panem, it's time to be the face of fear that Coin needed me to be.

A soldier runs over and takes over from me for moving Katniss, but he gets shot before he has chance to move her, the rebels are being pushed back, I'm all that stands between Katniss and the peacekeepers.

I drop my rifle to the ground and draw my pistol and sword, holding my pistol in my left hand and sword in my right. I walk down the steps and watch as several peacekeepers aim for me, I can see myself on the screens above, all of Panem will see the monster that the rebels have tried to leash.

"Is this how you want to die?" I ask as I spread my arms to the peacekeepers. They all laugh for a moment, the Mockingjay may have fallen, but a far more dangerous bird has taken her place.

"Do the math, asshole, there's only one of you." A peacekeeper shouts causing all the others but one to laugh, the other peacekeeper has the face of fear.

"Guys... guys... I think that's the Phoenix." He says as he doesn't take his eyes off me. The rest laugh his suggestion off, but when I laugh along they all stop and stare at me in fear.

"Oh, my dear boy." I reply with a menacing chuckle. I shoot the power-box for the light and the square goes pitch black. "I'm so much more, from the ashes I rise!"

By the time I had finished the words my pistol was away and I was charging the peacekeepers with flaming weapons and armour. They all scream and begin firing wildly, but I cut through them and throw the bodies away. Right now I am nothing more than a force of fear, I am what demons and devils dream they could become. Gale was right, there is a part of me that enjoys the violence and the carnage.

I decapitate one, spin around and slice the arm off another, bring my arms around his neck and snapping it in front of all of Panem. The other run into the square, and as the lights come on the last thing they see is me fly through the air and embed my axe and sword into two of them standing side by side.

The rebels haven't fired a shot since I took centre stage, in fact they watched with a mixture of fear and awe. One peacekeeper is left, the one who fired at the Mockingjay. The bastard that may have cost us the entire the rebellion, and the bastard that may have killed one of Everdeen's heirs. I won't let his memory fade away.

"No... no... no... please, mercy!" He screams as he fumbles to reload his weapon. I pull my flaming sword from the peacekeeper body and walk slowly towards the now crying peacekeeper. I rest my sword gently on his neck. "Mercy!"

"Not tonight." I reply, and cut partially into his neck, pulling the blade out and allowing him the painful death of bleeding out before the entire world. I take my tomahawk from the other peacekeeper and slide both of my melee weapons into the sheath. I draw my pistol and look to the camera, aiming my pistol at it. "And there will be no mercy for you either, Snow."

I fire the pistol into the camera and watch the people behind stare in complete shock. I slowly walk to the Mockingjay and pick her body up. I check her pulse, she's alive!

"I need a medic, now!" I scream to the rebels. For a moment they all stare at me with confusion, before one young soldier finally comes to his senses. He sprints from a smaller building and begins unpacking a small first aid kit. "Can you save her?"

"I can try, sir, but I'm a radio operator." The young man replies, worry covering his face as he struggles to open the kit with his shaking hands. I lay a reassuring hand on his shoulder and motion for him to take a breath in.

"You're the only person here who has tried to help, just do what you can." I say with a small nod. The young man stares at me for a moment, and then shakes his head up and down violently. His face become determined and he begins trying to save the Mockingjay.

I stand and look to the other rebels who did nothing, but they've all taken cover. That's when I hear it, the sound of metal grinding on stone.

"Didn't I kill you already?" I ask with a cocky smile as I turn to face the white copy of me. He defiantly faces me, his weapons shining in the spotlight as he makes his move, but I'm too quick.

I slide beneath his swing and go to stab with my sword, but he parries it, punching me in the side of the head. I stumble to the floor and roll, rising to a single knee as I stare him down.

He chuckles for a moment and throws his sword at me.

Silly mistake.

I rise to my feet, spin around and throw my tomahawk straight towards the man. He isn't quick enough, and the tomahawk embeds itself in the man's head. For a moment the world is quiet, but as I turn to face Katniss I notice that the sword had cut into the young man's arm, and he's fallen onto the floor. Silent.

I walk slowly over to Katniss, she's still alive, unlike the young man who came to her rescue. I let out a long drawn sigh and slide my hands beneath her, picking up the wounded teenager. I slowly make my way through the remains of the District, every person watching as I gently carry her to the nearest medical tent, where she is ripped from my grasp as I hopelessly watch her get dragged away to be saved.

For a moment I'm left standing outside a tent, my shoulders hanging low and my gaze not leaving the tent. I remain like this for what seems like hours, even though I know it's minutes.

The radio bursts into life.

"Seth?" Kate asks through the radio. My silence is her answer. "Come home to me, Seth."


	28. Failure

As soon as I step off the hovercraft and back into District 13 I knew what was going to happen, and it happened just as imagined.

Katniss was rushed away through the corridors of the District, while I was left standing by the hovercraft, looking on and knowing that I had failed my one and only true job, and nearly had broken my promise to some many people who share it, keep the Mockingjay alive.

"Phoenix!" I hear from my right, I turn my head slowly and feel the fist impact in my face. Gale stops for a moment and shakes his hand violently, obviously he forgot about the metal in my mask. "You said you'd keep her safe, and what do you do instead? You went on some... mad, flaming rampage and let her get shot!"

"I fucked up." Is all I reply with causing Gale to frown to me for a moment as I let my shoulders drop and my head drop even lower. "I fucked up. She got shot, and it's my fault."

"Yeah, you're damn rig-"

"Seth!" I hear to my right. I look to the direction of the voice and smile as I watch that beautiful woman jog to me and wrap her arms around me. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, darling, I'm fine." I reply without a hint of truth in my voice. She lets go of my shoulders, slides her hands down my arms and places her hands in mine. She looks into my mask and pulls it from my face, placing her lips against mine for a moment. It feels good to be back to my girl.

"No, you're not." She turns to face Gale for a moment, who's hand is pulsing red. "What happened?"

"I punched him." Gale replies, causing Kate to go really red really quickly.

"What!?"

"He punched me." I confirm look to Gale for a moment. Before I have chance to stop her, Kate swings for Gale and her fist connects with his cheek, sending a cracking sound through the entire hangar.

"You deserved that you twat." She nearly spits at Gale as he rises back up and clicks his neck. Gale looks to me apologetically.

"She's right, I'm sorry for that." Gale apologises, looks down to his hand and flexes it for a moment. He then looks back up to me. "I'm just so worried."

"I know how you feel. Go to her family, they will need you more than me." I say with a small nod. Gale nods back and starts jogging away and off into the bowels of District Thirteen. I look back to Kate as she places my mask back in my hands.

"Coin is going to want to see you, isn't she?" She asks with a deflated tone. I nod for a moment and look back up to her. She gives me a small smile and runs her hand through my hair. "Come find me back home in reflection time, I'll cheer you up."

"You always do." I reply with a small smile, one that she sends back to me. She plants a quick kiss on my lips and turns away from me. I watch her walk for a moment, wishing to be back in her arms once again.

I look down at my mask and stare into the black glass that have acted as my eyes for so long. My reflection stares right back at me, looking just as broken as Katniss was when she was hit by that single round of led. I avenged her though, I avenged her in a rain of fire.

I sigh and slide it over my face, feeling the mixture of fabric and metal fit against the curves and crevices of my face with pin-point precision. I then look forward, straighten my back, and begin making my way to Coin's office.

* * *

It doesn't take long to reach the office, or at least i think it didn't, I was day dreaming throughout my entire walk. I did notice the looks the soldiers were giving me as a man in a suit of dirty, bloody, and damaged armour walked past them all with his head hanging low.

Yesterday was yet another defeat, and I know that I'll suffer many more throughout the course of this war, however long it may take.

I enter Coin's office and find her staring at me with angry eyes. I can't say this is surprising, in fact I half expected her to shoot me when I stuck my head around the corner.

"Care to explain this failure?" Coin asks, throwing a picture on her desk of Katniss being shot on live television. I stare at it for a moment, not knowing whether to cry or run. "Well?"

"I got nothing, ma'am." I reply as I stare down at the floor, not able to make eye-contact with the woman across the table from me. "I fucked up."

"Damn right you did! I've kept my end of the bargain, why aren't you holding to yours?" She asks whilst pointing a finger at me. I look up for a moment and see her face full of rage.

"I didn't mean to, ma'am." I say pathetically. Right now I sound like a school child who's been caught doing something he shouldn't, what happened to the man I am? Coin stares at me with disbelief, and I'm dismissed before she gets even madder.

I step out of the office and find people rushing around, all of them trying not to bump into each other as they hurry on with their business. I'm left standing in the corridor, surrounded by people yet never feeling so alone.

My heart yearns for Kate, but I know she's going to be helping the war effort. I sigh and turn through the corridor and make my way towards the only place that can appear to fix me.

By the time I reach the armoury my condition has become ten times worse. The sorrow in my heart has spread throughout my body and my limbs feel heavy. As the doors slide open I can't help but notice how everyone watches me move, caked in the broken armour that has become my face.

I step in Beetee's office. He looks up to me from where he is sitting and slides his glasses down his nose.

"Well, I see we have quite the predicament building within the metal surfaces of this establishment." Beetee says as his eyes focus on me. Although most would think that he was speaking of only District 13, I can tell that he's also implying the buildup of pain in the machine that I am seen as. "I can only assume that you would like me to repair your armour? Clean your weapons and solder the electronics?"

"If you would be so kind." I reply as I begin sliding the mass of weapons and armour off me and placing them on the table in front of Beetee. I'm left standing in just my boxers, but luckily he has a spare set of uniform that fits me. "Thank you."

"No, thank you. If you hadn't intervened with what happened yesterday then the situation would have been far darker than what it was." Beetee replied as he slid my armour off his desk and onto a small metal table to his left, leaving him with my rifle, sword, pistol, and tomahawk. "You've seemed to have put these through a significant amount of stress."

"They aren't the only ones." I reply as I sit opposite to him, watching Beetee's expertly skilled hands dismantling the rifles and separating the parts into a organised line. Beetee looks to me for a moment as he runs a cloth along the trigger guard.

"I witnessed the video, you did better than most given the circumstance." Beetee replies as he begins to run the cloth along the scope of the weapon. "Still not convinced?"

"If I had done my job, then Katniss wouldn't have been shot." I reply as I turn my eyes back to the table. Beetee continues to look at me, even if I refuse to meet his eyes.

"Are you saying that you could have predicted her being shot?" Beetee questions. I know that question is rhetorical, and in all honesty maybe what I need is a pep talk right now. "No one could have predicted the second marksman. In fact, you saw those other rebels. When the Mockingjay fell they did nothing, but you fought to protect her as if she was your own flesh and blood."

"She feels like she is." I reply with a small smile. I feel responsibility for Katniss, she's this era's Claire, a strong woman forced to fight for survival. Does that mean that Peeta would be this era's me? I doubt it, we're too very different people.

Just from watching his Games I can tell that he doesn't want to fight, he doesn't get that feeling when he brings a sword down on an enemy that this is what he was born to do. Some people just don't have that killer instinct, that calling to them that makes them want to hunt the most difficult prey.

"Good, keep that attachment and nothing will stand between the two of you." Beetee replies confidently. I look up him and find him still staring at me with sympathetic eyes, ones that I feel I can trust.

"So you think she'll be okay?"

"She'll be traumatised, but she will recover." Beetee answered with a smile as he looked down to my weapon and continued cleaning. "Now it is nearly time for reflection, i assume you have plans beside my company?"

"Yes, of course." I stutter as I slowly stand and make my way from his office. i stop at the door and turn to look back at him with a smile on my face. "Thank you, Beetee."

"It was my pleasure."

* * *

I reach mine and Kate's room before she does. I happily slide into the room and remove ,y clothing as I make my way to the shower. I run the water, allowing the warmth to flow from the shower-head and onto my body as I gingerly make my way into it's raining heat.

I sigh as I feel the warmth spread across my skin and into my muscles, almost ripping the stress that clings off them and allowing it to fall into the basin below.

My limbs seem to soften as I run my hands through my hair, watching as the masses of dirt and small scrapes of dried blood fall and dance into the plug below.

Suddenly a voice rings through the bathroom: "You in the shower, babe?"

"Yeah, I am." I call back in a low tone. The door opens and I find Kate walking towards me, removing layers of clothing as she walks.

"Oh good, thanks for warming it up for me." She says with a cheeky smile as I feel her arms warp around my chest and her head bury itself beneath my chin. "You feeling okay?"

"A lot better now you're here." I reply with a small smile as I kiss her forehead softly. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." She whispers as we let the water run over the two of us. Kate looks down for a moment. "The basin if filthy, when'd you shower last?"

"Since before I went to District Two." I reply. Kate instantly lets go of me and grabs the nearest bottle of chemicals she can find, pouring it over my head and starting to runs her hands over my body.

"You can piss off if you think I'm cuddling up to you with all that dirt on you." She says with a cheeky smile. I raise an eyebrow to her.

"Oh, you didn't seem to mind getting covered in dirt wh-"

"Stop it." She cuts me off jokingly as she places a finger over my mouth. "I think I've calmed down since we were seventeen."

"In bed? Not really." I reply with a cheeky grin. Kate's cheeks go red for a moment and she gives me a playful look.

"You still want to see me like that then you better keep it to yourself." She replies with a mixture of a serious and joking scowl. I grin to her for a moment and plant my lips softly against hers. "I think your clean now."

"Shame, that means I have to get out." I reply with a fake scowl. Kate chuckles to herself for a moment and wraps her arms back around me, I copy the action. Kate lets out a low hum for a moment, and then the water suddenly turns off. "Time's up."

"Shame, I was enjoying myself." Kate replies as she steps from the shower and wraps a towel around her. She throws a towel to me, and I do the same. "Coin gave the wives of the returning soldiers the day off to be with them, I guess I'm classed as your wife by these people."

"Not yet." I reply with a small smile as we both move into the main room of our little home. "Won't be long though, and then we'll live in District Seven, back in the Victor's Village."

"Coin said that?"

"No, but I'd like her to try and stop me." I reply with a cheeky smile. Kate drops the towel and walks straight our bed, sliding under the covers and staring at me with intense eyes. "We've said so much over the past year and a half, I can't remember most the changes to the deal we've made."

"Happens a lot?" She asks as I slide under the covers next to her. She slowly inches towards me so that she partially laying on my bare chest. I look down at my arm and chest for a moment, feeling extremely exposed. "Don't worry, you're mask is in the draw, I made sure I put it there earlier."

"Thank you, darling, you think of everything." I reply as she gives me a small smile and brings her leg over.

"See? That's why you love me." And then she places her lips against mine.


	29. For The Worst

I stand in my fully polished and repaired suit of armour, staring at the Mockingjay in her bed. I've been in this situation so many times. I don't know what it is, why I do it, why I ignore orders just to watch over her. Some may call it creepy, or would it be seen as protective? I say her like a sister after all, even though we've only spoken once.

"If you're here to assassinate her, please do, then I can take the morphling." Johanna says from my left. She's sitting upright in her bed impatiently tapping her fingers against the mattress. I have to admit, even after the torture, she grew up to be an attractive girl.

I ignore the comment, hoping to god that the tears won't start flowing from behind my metal mask.

"You hear me? I'm getting sick of not being sick here." She says which makes me smile for a moment, it's good that she inherited that District Seven humour, she's going to bloody need it.

"I hear you, Johanna." I reply, almost instantly mentally slapping myself for letting her name slip up. I see Johanna frown from the side and I decide I need to do something, or she'll start asking questions as well. I quickly slide away to another bed, steal her the morphling, and jab it into her arm before she has chance to ponder. "Just rest."

"If you say so..." She says as the morphling starts to take effect and the fire in her eyes slowly dies away into embers. Then she says a word that breaks my heart. "...bandages."

My heart sink for a moment, she knows who I am. Blight obviously told her about me, probably told her to keep me a well guarded secret as well, or maybe her father spoke about me before he died?

I push the thoughts to the back of mind and go to find two certain people, two people that I need to speak to as soon as possible.

I slide into Peeta's little staff room and search for her, but I can't find her anywhere.

"Mr. Greenlaw?" I hear from my side, almost making me jump. I turn my head and find Prim standing in the doorway. I let out a sigh as she stares at me with blaming eyes. I indicate the table and chairs, as I move around and sit down.

"Can you find your mam so the three of us can talk?" I ask as I wrap my hands together. Prim stares at me for a moment, not sure on how to act, but she finally calls out that word.

"What's wrong, Primrose?" Mrs. Everdeen asks as she runs into the room. She stops short when she finds me sitting at the table. "Oh. What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you and Prim." I reply as I motion to the two silver chairs opposite me. The two Everdeen's stand staring for a moment, neither willing to make the first move. "Please. You used to trust me, after all."

"The others may be blaming you, but I'm not." Mrs. Everdeen replies, causing me to sigh and let all of my muscles go loose. My head drops to the desk and I feel my heart break as I know that I'm not the one to blame, that someone sees me as a protector tyring his best.

Suddenly my gauntlet covered hands are wrapped up in another's hands, I look at see Mrs. Everdeen smiling at me as she hold my hands while I take deep breaths to calm myself. Prim comes to my left and wraps her small arms around my chest, causing a single tear to slide down my cheek as I smile through the mask at the young girl.

"Thank you, both of you. You don't realise how much this means to me." I reply as I slide my hands from Mrs. Everdeen's and wrap my arms around prim. It seems strange to be held by someone other than Kate, but it feels nice to have support from more than just one root in the tree. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect her. I tried, I really did, but I didn't see the other marksman."

"I saw the video, you tried your best." Mrs. Everdeen replied, causing me to smile for a moment as I feel my confidence slowly straying to rebuild itself, broken brick by broken brick. "She'll be fine, I'm glad she had you protecting her, the rebel soldiers did nothing to help her."

"They were all too stunned." I reply as I hold Prim out at arms length and smile to her for a moment. Even though she can't see my face, she smiles back to me. I pat her head and stand from the table and turn to face Mrs. Everdeen again. "Now, I've not just come to say sorry. How is Peeta?"

"Do you want to see?" Mrs. Everdeen asks. Almost instinctively, when I feel Prim's hand in mine, I wrap mind around hers. It seems that a giant metal murderer could seem so protective of such a little girl. Mrs. Everdeen smiles when she spots the gesture and waves so that I follow her.

We walk back towards Peeta's room. I stare at him through the glass. He's asleep at the moment, but I can't help but feel as though he shouldn't be.

"What you're feeling, that sense that he shouldn't be in there, we all get it." Mrs. Everdeen informs me as we both watch the blonde boy sleeping in his bed, or prison.

"Forgive me if it seems rude..." I begin as I look to Mrs. Everdeen. She looks up to me with a small frown. "Are you okay with Peeta loving your daughter?"

"Well..." Mrs. Everdeen goes silent for a moment, her blue eyes staring to him with a face full of concern. "The old Peeta, yes."

"No, mum. Peeta is in there, we just need to get him out." Prim says as she lets go of my hand and wraps herself around her mother's waist. Mrs. Everdeen smiles as lets her hand rest gently on Prim's shoulder.

"I know we will." She says with slightly teary blue eyes. "But to answer your question, Phoenix, I think I would be happy to see him marry my daughter."

"And maybe he will." I reply as I pull my mask off and smile to him for a moment. Mrs. Everdeen smiles as he studies the features of my face. "And you can call me Seth, if you want to."

"I didn't think anyone had the honour." Mrs. Everdeen replied with a small chuckle, one that I return.

"Only a few."

* * *

I slide down the ladder, and then help Kate down as we both land in District Seven once again. The sight of the Justice Building takes her breath away.

"You okay, darling?" I ask as I hold her hand in mine, causing some of the rebels to shoot me some strange looks. She takes a deep breath in and then sighs, obviously she doesn't want to be here.

"Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for." I reply with a small nod of my head.

"It's just I haven't been here since..." She cuts herself off at the end and looks at the front of the Justice Building. She points at it with sorrowful eyes. "It was right there, all those years ago."

"I know, I killed Callum." I reply as I struggle to maintain my composure. I look back to her rest my forehead gently against hers. "You know where you're going?"

"Yeah. I also know that I'm here till the war ends." She replies, lifting my mask up and kissing my lips gently. She slides the mask back over my face and gently lays her hand on the side of my face. "Be safe, and I'll see you tonight."

"Till tonight." I reply with a small smile and watch as she makes her way into the Justice Building. That's when I hear a voice I haven't heard in weeks.

"You two just can't keep your hand off each other!" I hear from my left. I instantly start smiling as I turn and spot Miles chuckling with a long piece of wheat coming from his mouth. I walk over and grasp his forearm, he returns the grasp and we both continue to laugh. "Welcome home, brother."

"Good to see you again, Miles." I reply as we both start to walk towards where a group of soldiers are training, and a fair few peacekeepers? "What's going on?"

"We had more join the Outcasts. They've all painted their armours black and have come under your command. Michael is commanding one group of ten and Andrew is commanding the other ten." Miles informs me with a large grin over his face. I look to him, not really knowing what to say. "You're gonna get promoted at this rate."

"Doesn't matter, I don't get paid anyway." I reply with a small chuckle. Sergeant Miles calls the Outcasts into a line so that I can inspect them all. Michael and Andrew come up to me and snap quick and sharp salutes.

"Sir," Michael begins as he stands to attention before me, "Colonel Bird has instructed us to report to you."

"We've also been told that we're getting assigned to the dam again." Miles replies as he turns to face me. I quickly scan my peacekeeper army, all in their identical black uniforms with small bits of orange painted into different tribal patterns. This is going to be a hell of a morale crusher for the Capitol. "Thread has been moving towards the dam, and rumour has it that he's got himself some new troops, they-"

"Look like me but white?" I ask without a single bit of surprise. Miles frowns for a moment, I shush him. "I've met one, at District Two, I'll admit they are good."

"Did you get him?"

"Dead as a door nail." I reply with a confident nod. Miles grins for a moment then turns to the Outcasts.

"Hear that, boys?" He shouts as he walks down the line with a cocky grin plastered all over his face. "Thread thinks these fuckers can beat us, yet he's wrong again."

The Outcasts laugh along with him, obviously they respect Miles quite a bit. Miles nods to Michael and Andrew, and they instantly begin organising the Outcasts into sparring once again.

"We've got this in the bag, these guys know what they are doing." Miles says to me with a confident smile plastered over his face like a sapling that's seen a new toy. "We're in for a hell of a fight, but we should do great."

"There'll be nothing great about it. You guys heard what happened to the Mockingjay?" I ask with an irritated voice. The symbol of the rebellion is dying and my men are thinking everything peachy. Miles nods as I speak.

"Yeah, sorry about that, but all the men want to do is offer her a bit of payback." Miles replies with a wicked smile. So it's working then, Coin's plan of martyring her, it would actually work. "These peacekeepers are here to fuck the Capitol up, not to play politics."

"Aren't most the rebels?" I ask with a small chuckle, one that Miles kindly repeats.

"It's a good thing, I've seen how you Seveners deal with problems. I've seen at least three brawls over sandwiches since you went to Two." I chuckle at the comment, it does feel good to be home, even if it is a war zone.

* * *

I walk through the Victor's Village as the moon bursts through the clouds above, lighting the Village with a hypnotising blue glow. I take a quick glance to my old home, the door is slightly open, I knew she'd be here.

I step in without knocking, slowly making my way through the house I used to call home. I take a step around to the dining room and find Kate sitting at the table with a cup of tea in her hand and her files spread across the table.

"You need to quieter than that, babe." She says without looking. I smile for a moment and sit next to her, she slides another mug of tea over to me. Then looks up and smiles. "It feels good to be back home."

"I know what you mean." I reply, sliding my mask off my head and taking a sip of the warm liquid in the mug. I sigh happily and lean further back into the chair.

"It's strange how nothing here has changed. I take it Blight kept it in good nick while we were gone." Kate says as she took another sip of her tea and scanned through one of her many files. I smiled at the mention of his name, he was a good man, and I wish there was a way I could bring him back to us. I wish there was a way I could bring them all back to us.

"He knew we'd come back." I reply as I look at the files, one being of the dam. I slide it over and begin reading, only to get a hand flatten on the page and a small growl emanate from my fiance. "What?"

"No peeking. It's naughty." She commands with a playful glare, moving the file back in front of her. "I'm not allowed to just throw files around the places like their knives."

"I bet you don't get chance to do that much in District Thirteen." I reply with a cheeky grin. It was a long time ago, but Kate did have a love for throwing sharp objects at other objects. She smiles back for a moment.

"Well, I haven't started back up since I got 'ere, but I think I'll start with you if you look at my files again." She replies as she pokes her tongue out and begins reading through the file. Her face grows serious the more she reads. "You didn't tell me you were going to the dam."

"I was going to, but I haven't long got in." I reply as she scans through the file. He face become more contorted as she starts reading the figures at the bottom of the page. "How bad is it?"

"How bad? Very bad. Looks like the Capitol really want that dam back." Kate replies as she continues to zip through the rest of the files. She lets out a long drawn sigh and leans back in the chair, covering her face with her hands. "You better be careful, I remember last time you were at that dam."

"Last time I wasn't defending it." I reply as I move my chair closer to her. She lets her hands drop to her sides and blows out all of the hot air stored in her lungs.

"Hopefully I'll be directing the drone above you, well, me and Richard." She says as she moves back towards the table. I frown at the name and tilt my head, causing her to grin. "You jealous?"

"No." I reply that little bit too quickly, feeling my cheeks go red as I realise I've cocked up. Kate grins at me with that triumphant faces she wears so well. Just before I take a sip of my tea I ask: "Who's Richard?"

"Richard. As in your Adviser." I nearly spit my tea out as I struggle to swallow the liquid. Kate frowns in confusion as I swallow the tear and begin a mixture of coughing and laughing. "What?"

"Richard is our Adviser? Ha! I never thought I'd learn that bastards name." I reply as I take another sip of my tea with a happy grin creeping over my face. Kate rolls her eyes at me and continues scanning the files. She slides one over to me, and I inspect the pictures with great concern.

"These guys look familiar?" She asks with a concerned look. It's one of those white soldiers again, in armour nearly identical to mine. The pictures are of them in different Districts, each picture shows them committing a different atrocity.

"Sadly, yeah. One of them is dead, that's for sure."

"A few are, we've been killing them where ever they can be found." Kate replies as she looks at the picture with her eyes not really registering what she's seeing. "Turns out your little Outcasts were being trained to be these, most of the peacekeepers turned tail. The few that stayed have become these guys, all under Commander Thread."

She slides me another image, one of Thread covered in the white armour with a pistol being held to a rebels head.

"They're not what I expected."

"What did you expect?" I ask in confusion, tilting my head ever so slightly as I speak. She takes a moment to come up with a decent answer.

"In all honesty, more rigid peacekeepers, but these guys don't seem to follow any form of rules, they just kill." She turns one of the images to face her and frowns at it. "And I mean they kill everything. As much as we're killing, they're killing far more of us."

"Maybe the Outcasts can give us a hand. Want me to call Michael?" I ask. Kate shakes her head, almost violently, at the question.

"No." She turns to me and grabs my hand, lifting me from the chair and walking me to the stairs. "Right now I want to get you out of that armour and I want to fall asleep listening to your heart beating. Fair deal?"

I smile for a moment and kiss her gently on the lips. When I pull back she's still smiling.

"Fair deal."


	30. Damn the Dam

I walk through the District caked in my armour once again. Kate has taken Michael and Andrew away for questioning, so I'm left with my Outcasts.

"Think we could, like, I dunno, get them drunk and see what happens?" O'Brian asks with a large smile as he takes a sip out of his water bottle. Heath rolls his eyes at the comment and comes to stand next to me.

"When we leaving, sir?" He asks with his normal serious expression. I shrug and continue watching the Outcasts all organising their gear, getting ready for what will be a very, very, difficult fight.

"When Colonel Bird says go." I reply. I look to Heath, all dressed in his black uniform with the balaclava covering his face. It's easy to tell who my men are, they all have adopted the colours of the night, all of them becoming hunters of other humans. "You and O'Brian going to be okay working with the peacekeepers?"

"They're professional soldiers. Skilled soldiers. I'm glad to have them on our side. O'Brian is okay with it, sir." He replies as he looks back to the twenty black silhouette's all cleaning their weapons.

"You found anything about them?" I ask knowing what the answer will be anyway. "About their personalities?"

"They're all clones, sir. Not literal clones, but they may as well be." Heath replies. I look back at the Outcasts and feel sorry for them all, I may have had a bad childhood, but at least I had one. "They don't know where they came from, we can only guess judging by what they look like, but they all seem to have been kept away from they're homes for so long they all look similar."

"What did they say their names were?"

"They all just gave me a number. O'Brian gave them a list of names and they all chose a name, but apart from that they still have trouble answering to anything but their numbers." He replies with his normal monotone voice. He's a professional, through and through, in fact don't think he's ever known anything but being a soldier. "They all look up to you though, sir, Michael and Andrew went through all your war stories with them."

"I haven't told-"

"They went and read up on it, sir." Heath replies with a small chuckle as he folds his arms and stands more rigid. "You were infamous to the peacekeepers, now look at them."

"You know, this the most I've ever heard you speak." I say with a cheeky grin under my mask. Heath shrugs, unwavering in his response.

"I'll shut up when they start talking." He replies. Suddenly I hear the sound of Miles coming from behind me, and Heath scutters off to rejoin O'Brian.

"Gooooooood morning." Miles says with a large smile as he slips his balaclava over his head. "You all ready?"

"Yeah, I'm just waiting on Colonel Bird." I reply as I watch Miles take in a deep breath and exhale happily. "What got you in such a good mood?"

"A certain woman." Miles replies with a triumphant smile. I know exactly what he's implying. "A certain woman with a certain love for honey."

"Oh fuck's sake, shut it." I say jokingly as I punch him in the shoulder. Miles laughs back and the two of us stand for a moment, watching the Outcasts as they all, seemingly in unison, finish cleaning their gear. A single Outcasts stands before me and salutes.

"Outcasts ready, sir." He informs me. I smile and give him a quick nod.

"What's your name?" I ask. The Outcast seems to faulter for a moment, as if trying to remember the one that he chose. I watch him as he looks to the floor and mutters some swear word beneath his breath. He looks back up to me.

"Geth, sir."

"Geth? What kind of name is Geth?" Miles asks with a confused voice. The peacekeeper turns to look at him.

"It's my name, sergeant." He replies. I chuckle for a moment, and the peacekeeper turns back to me. His visor is covered in orange paint that looks like a skull, and he has three long orange claw marks down the front of his armour. I admit the paint work on each of the Outcasts armour, each unique, and each equally terrifying.

"Thank you, Geth, get the men ready at the airfield." I reply watching as Geth gives me a quick salute and instantly organises the other nineteen so that they are on there way to the hovercraft.

"Geth? Really?"

"What's wrong with Geth? It's like Seth!" I ask in mock annoyance. Miles shrugs for a moment.

"It's just weird, much like you." He replies, and we both chuckle for a brief moment. Then I feel a finger tap my shoulder. I turn and find Kate smiling at me, she hands me a file and plants a kiss on my cheek.

"I won't show you up in front of your men." She whispers with a cheeky smile. I can't help but chuckle back as I start reading through the file. "Colonel Bird says you're leaving in ten, best starting moving, babe."

"You heard the lady." I reply, sliding my mask over my nose and giving Kate a long and passionate kiss in front of Miles. When I finally pull back I notice her breathing has deepened by quite a bit.

"Stay safe."

"Till the day i die." I reply with a large grin on my face as I turn to Miles. "Lets move."

* * *

I sit in the hovercraft with my team to my side and Michael and Andrew across from me. Both of them seem to be unable to move away from me since they came back from being interviewed by Kate.

"You guys know what you're doing?" I ask them both as they sit before me the exact same rigid position. Michael has painted orange bird wings onto his back and a bird's head on the front, where as Andrew had decided, for some reason that no one in the whole of Panem could work out but it pissed me off greatly, decided to paint a mother fucking orange with a bolt going through it onto his chest to try and make himself seem more like me!

"Yes, sir." Michael answered for both of them, Andrew just nodded along. "I'll hold the east, Andrew will hold the west. Keep in radio contact throughout the battle and remember to call in the enemy positions for the mortars."

"Told you they were good." Heath adds with a large chuckle as he observes the two peacekeepers turned rebel soldiers with a shine in his eye.

"And are you guys okay about..."

"About Thread's army?" Andrew asks with a strangely sympathetic tone. It's amazing just how quickly these two men, raised to be machines of war, have turned human. I can't help seeing a bit of me in both of them, and the rest of the Outcasts. "They had a choice, sir, and they chose wrong."

"The men tried to get them to rebel, but some people are just blind." Michael added as the two of them stare at me from behind black visors. I now understand what it is like for people to look at me when I'm talking about war.

"I'm glad they're on our side." Miles adds with a small chuckle.

The hovercraft slows down as the back opens. We all stand and hold onto the bar above us as the lights turn red. We all wait for a moment, all of us waiting for the countdown. It's normally the same time every time, wait five seconds, and then run and jump.

It's no different this time. The lights turn green and we all jump the ten foot drop onto the dam, landing with a roll and drawing our weapons. It's almost instinct, and i watch as the other soldiers do the exact same as they are dropped from their hovercrafts.

I nod to Geth, and he is the first to stand as he places his rifle back on his back. Andrew jogs over, organises his ten men, and moves towards his goal. It's only then I notice that Andrew has painted a massive target onto his back.

"Are these guys insane?" O'Brian asks with a small and shocked chuckle at the end.

"We're worse." Michael replies as he walks his men over to the other side of the dam. I quickly look over to Miles, who does nothing but reply with a shrug as we carry on moving towards the centre of the dam.

* * *

We're standing on the edge, rifles resting on the corner of oblivion as me and my men all point our weapons towards the forests below us. We've seen them move, the flashes of white, the shaking of the trees, the sound of a machine.

Behind us is the largest lake in the whole of District Seven, there's no where to run when this fight starts. I look into the sky and give a quick nod to the moon, but then the Dam's lights burst into life and the entire stone structure is lit up like a fire.

This does make it easier to see the peacekeepers below, how were, the same applies for them.

Suddenly the left and right flanks are being assaulted, peacekeepers charging up the sides of the hills and opening fire on the rebels and soldier's in their sand bag bunkers. I decide to help out in what ever way I can, I aim towards the base of the hill and wait for an opening. A peacekeeper runs past and I fire, but the shot hits low and he gets away.

"We're not going to get anywhere by here." Miles says with an annoyed voice. I turn to him and look for a decent spot to set up my rifle.

"O'Brian, go to Michael. Heath, go to Andrew." I order, the two soldiers nod and begin sprinting in opposite directions. "Miles, scale that light with me."

"Right behind you." Miles replies as the two of us sprint to one of the several flood lights. We begin climbing the metals bar, which I have no trouble with at all, I still remember how to move through nearly every terrain after living in District Seven for eighteen years.

We reach the top and I wedge myself behind the light and rest my rifle on top. Miles takes his place next to me and watches as the peacekeepers charge both sides of the dam.

"Right side looks like it's getting overwhelmed." Miles informs me as he adjusts himself and starts firing rounds off to suppress the army that advances on the rebels.

I take aim down the scope, letting my body relax and my breathing completely stop as I look for my target. It would be strange to describe this feeling to anyone, the feeling of perfect relaxation with adrenaline. Your heart slows down yet your senses are bursting, nearly every movement is registered and yet you're not moving. It's the same feeling I get when I hunt, and it's the most dangerous phase a human can go into.

I pull the trigger as a peacekeeper runs past, the round breaks through his chest and he collapses onto the floor, his corpse become yet another obstacle for his fellow peacekeepers to overcome.

Another peacekeeper runs through my scope, I pull the trigger but the shot lands behind him. He works out where the shot came from, but another soldier puts him down before he can fire back. That's when I see them in person, my mirror images.

One of Thread's soldier runs straight through my sights with two sword drawn. I re-adjust myself to find him again, but as I move towards where the rebels are being pinned down I notice more than one. Three of the guards descend onto the rebels and begin slicing them open with razor sharp blades.

I move my sights onto one of the guard's heads and fire, the round rips straight through and burst through the other side. Suddenly the radio bursts into life.

"Adviser to-"

"Seth! Fucks sake, Seth! You okay?" Kate shouts through the radio, the fear drenched in her voice.

"I'm fine, where are you?" I ask, instantly mentally slapping myself. Giving her position away on the radio could get her in a serious amount of trouble with the enemy.

"We're watching the battle, the woods are stopping us from giving you numbers." She replies and I instantly know what she means. The dense wood is stopping the analysts from working out just how many peacekeepers are coming and where from.

Miles fires another burst from his rifle. The rounds hit the guards square in the chest, but the armour manages to take the impact and they carry on fighting. Miles growls in frustration and fires off the whole magazine into the guard, causing him to stumble and fall of the dam.

"Take that you fuck!" He shouts happily as he struggles to load the next magazine and keep balance.

"Babe we have another group of peacekeepers to the left flank." Kate informs me through the radio. I fire again at the guard and the round bursts through his skull.

"Kate, honey, we need air support or something." I reply as I spin my rifle around and begin laying down rounds into the barrage of peacekeepers coming from the other flank. I have enough time to spot the ten Outcasts fall back into cover, luckily I haven't lost any of my men at the moment. The rebels on the other hand...

"You've got hovercraft on their way, stay safe, babe." She replies, I can almost hear the tension release in her voice as the I hear the engines of the two aircraft bellow above us.

I watch as the aircraft take their places above the damn and begin firing into the woods below. The screams of peacekeepers and the sound of breaking trees and metal bouncing off rock fills the air and sends chills down my spine.

This isn't how I normally play this Game. In fact, big fights like this aren't my speciality, I'm pretty much useless in a big battle like this.

I slide down the light, helping Miles down the further down the metal he descends, both of us listening to the drumming of shells being launched into peacekeeper forces below.

It remains like this for a few minutes, just nothing but screams and booms, but when it stops the silence that follows is deafening. I look over the edge of the dam and witness the destruction before me. The forests I loved no burned and turned to ash, and corpses litter the forest floor like dew fall.

"Why are we holding this dam?" I ask Miles as he moves to look over the dam with me. Before I know it, nearly all the soldiers left, including my own, are staring down at the carnage below. Miles falls silent for a moment, and when I look to him his eyes are bleak and empty.

"I don't know."


	31. Set me Loose

I wake up very slowly as I struggle to readjust to the dim lighting of the dam. It's been weeks since I've been in here, the Mockingjay is alive, and every day we are being mortared by Capitol forces.

Moral is low, my men are all trapped and there's no real food. For now we've all been living off the rations that we had in the dam already stored.

I didn't realise how easy I had it until now. War for me was just a massive hunt, a mission here and there, a quick assassination and then I'm home, but this is something very different, and I wish I could be beyond the front-lines once again.

"Adviser to Phoenix." I faintly hear from the mask laying to the left of my sleeping back. I groan and slide the mask over my face.

"Phoenix here, everything okay?" I ask as I blink repeatedly, hoping my eyes will focus.

"All's fine Phoenix, we're going to be deploying you and the rest of your team to hunt down Thread." Instantly I'm sitting rigid and all my sense are tuned, if I have chance to kill Thread, I'm taking. "The Outcasts will offer a distraction by assaulting one of the several forts, you and your team will sneak in and kill Thread, take the fort if you can."

"Why are we sending such a small force?" I ask with a hint of confusion. In all honesty, I would have thought that we'd launch a counter-attack in order to stop the mortars from bombarding the dam.

"In all honest, Phoenix, Coin doesn't think we can take any more of District Seven." Adviser replies from over the radio. It doesn't surprise me at all, it's pretty much a stalemate up here, and anyone who tries to claim more land gets there arses handed to them. We've had forces try to push the forts, but all have been annihilated. "But Thread and his men are a major problem, and you and Coin have a certain deal, from what I've been told."

"Aye, that bastard is mine." I reply, standing up and scanning the room. I quickly slide into my armour and then wake Miles with a quick kick. "Oi, get up, and get the men ready on the dam."

* * *

Michael and Andrew lead the Outcasts through the woods to our left. Me, Miles, Heath, and O'Brian have taken the high road over the mountain so that we can see into the fort below us. There's a high number of peacekeepers, all of which seem to be on alert but haven't noticed the Outcasts moving through the morning forest.

The fort is identical to the one I infiltrated all those months ago, even before Kate was awake. Suddenly a burst of rounds go off and I watch all the peacekeepers swarm to the southern wall and begin firing into the woods below. My men should be safe as long as they stay in cover.

I indicate for the rest of my team to move along with me. We keep low and stick to the trees, trying our best to remain as quiet as possible.

It doesn't take long to reach the other side of the fort, and before I know it, O'Brian is strapping a small device to the electronic lock on the side of the door.

"Right, was it red, red, green? Or was it green, red , green?" O'Brian asks as he taps the buttons on the small rectangle. I turn to look at him with a concerned expression hidden beneath my mask. "Now, I'm not sure-"

"Do you know what you're doing?" Miles asks as he two turns to face O'Brian while Heath keeps guard. O'Brian falls silent for a minute.

"Oh fuck it." He smacks the buttons and the whole team screams like little girls as the door... Slowly opens and no explosion goes off. O'Brian sighs, proud that he has made the other three members of his team nearly shit themselves on the job, and gives me the thumbs up. "Sir?"

"I'm going to beat you, with a really, really big stick." I say to him with a serious posture. He blinks to me for moments and then shrugs innocently. I swear I am actually going to beat him with a stick.

We quickly return professional again, moving ourselves along the shadow of the wall and hoping that the Outcasts would be able to distract the enemy for long enough that we can sneak into the centre building and assassinate Commander Thread.

All of this could have been prevented, if only I had finished the fight with Thread all those years ago. If I had killed Thread, then maybe we could have stopped the battle for District Seven before it had really begun.

We manage to burst through the door with silenced guns blazing. The six peacekeepers standing in the corridor erupt into a mixture of blood and metal as we fill them full of holes.

The layout is identical to the other fort, and as such the men follow me with ease as we break down every door and clear each room with speed and ease. Only coming across difficulty when we hit the stairs and find peacekeepers waiting for us.

I lay down across the stairs and begin laying oppressed fire down the corridor. The peacekeepers fire back and I end up being forced to keep my head down beneath one of the metal steps.

"We're pretty much fucked if we stay here." Miles shouts up, but suddenly I find him withdrawing a small metal cylinder from his hand and pulling a small pin from the top. I've seen these used in District Two, and I know what is coming next. "Flashbang!"

The next few seconds are hell. My ear nearly burst as the world seems to echo the sound of ringing. I take the chance and move into the corridor, O'Brian and Heath move behind me and fire straight into the peacekeepers, killing them all instantly.

We storm through the rest of the corridor and burst into the command room. The empty command room.

"What the-" Miles asks as we all examine the room, all of us wondering where the hell Thread is. "Could he be on the wall?"

"Only one way to find out." I reply as we turn and head back towards the-

* * *

The flash filled the room, and when I come to I'm in a room, silver and square. I know this room... Or at least I know it's design. I inspect the large silver square panels that make up the wall, and suddenly two of them slide open, and there before me stands Thread.

"Looking for this?" He asks as he slides my armour into the room. I instantly snap to reality. I'm strapped to a chair, with nothing but my cargo pants on. I instantly start pulling and kicking, but my limbs are stuck down far too well for me to have any hope of escaping. "No point in struggling, you'll be here a while."

"Where am I?" I demand as I stare at the middle aged peacekeeper. He slowly walks into the room, caked in the white uniform that mirrors my armour, slowly circling me with his barbed white whip.

"You're in my territory now." He says low and menacingly. Suddenly I hear a crack and feel a burning sensation builds across my shoulder. This is how it's going to be played, ai Thread? I hold the pain in and grip onto the arms of the chair with all my force. Then I feel the back of the chair collapse down, now my whole back is exposed. "Here, I am the apex predator."

"Bollocks." I groan out as I feel yet another whip crash into my back, ripping the flesh away from my back. Then there's another, and another, and another, and another, and a final crack that echoes throughout the room. "What do you want!?"

"Nothing." Thread replies as he slowly moves in front of me, peeling my skin of the end of the whip. My vision tunnels as I watch him rolling pieces of my flesh between his gauntlet covered fingers. "This is just for my enjoyment. I don't need anything off you."

"Does Snow know I'm here?" I ask I struggle to stop the darkness building around my vision from consuming what I know. My eyelids fall shut, and the weight of my eyes seems to triple as I struggle to open them once again.

"Of course. You caused me a lot of trouble, escaping from the Capitol and making me seem incompetent in front of the officers." I open my eyes and see him kneeling in front of me with that menacing grin he wears so well. "I have a line of men outside that door, all of them with batons, all of them wanting a turn. Should I let them in?"

"Fucking do it. I've been dieing to see these bastards." I reply with an evil grin. Thread frowns for a moment, my reply catching him off guard. "When I get out I'm going to kill them all."

"And who's going to get you out?" Thread asks with questioning expression plastered across his face. "The rest of your team? They were executed on the spot, and your little renegade peacekeepers are died when we set the forest on fire."

"You're lying." I reply as stare into his menacing eyes. "You're speaking bollocks."

"Don't worry. Sergeant Miles didn't die straight away, we managed to break him first, in more ways than one."

"I-" For once I can feel my resolve shattering. How would Thread know so much about Miles unless... Thread laughs a low and horrible chuckle as the reality of the situation sinks in.

"Phoenix finally had his fire dowsed?" Thread asks with a victorious grin. Looks like they did it, the capitol have finally beaten me. "First the Mockingjay, and now the Phoenix."

"Mockingjay is still alive, Thread." I reply weakly. In all honesty I don't have a clue how the Mockingjay is. How Peeta is. How Gale is. Hell, I don't even now if my fiance is okay. "She's coming to kill you all."

"Katniss Everdeen? I knew that girl before the rebellion. She's nothing special, just another teenager with a death wish." Thread replies with a small shrug of his shoulders. He draws his knife and slides across my chest, causing me to wince in pain as he slices back across my chest with a small flick of the blade at the end. "Don't be concerned, you won't bleed out, but you'll be scarred."

I stare down at the two horizontal slices across my chest, watching the steady flow of blood pour from them. Even if I do survive all this, even if I am somehow rescued, I will never be able to look at my body the same way again.

"I'm going to end you, Thread."

"Oh I believe you will end my career. After I execute you on national television, I'll be able to retire and live a hero." Thread replies with a happy grin as he stands back up and wipes my own blood off his knife by running it through my hair. "However, I must thank you, you inspired the idea of the Venators."

"Venators?"

"These people." Thread replies as one of the men in the suits of armour walks into the room with a long white baton. He chuckles for a moment and smashes me over the face with the club. I roar in frustration and pain, feeling my entire body struggling to break free and murder the two bastards stood before me. "We thought we'd name them Venators, or hunters in the old tongue, in honour of you. Oh, not too happy about it?"

"Fuck you! I killed your father and I'm going to fuck you up too!" I scream at him, snapping at him like a rabid animal as I feel my blood boiling. "I'm going to kill everyone of you! You hear me? Every last one of you mother fuckers is going to get ripped apart!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! All of you! I'm going to skin you all, you sons of bitches!" I scream at them, feeling my limbs and head get heavier as more of my blood drips from my body and onto the floor beneath me. My head drops for a moment, but it's then pulled back up by a cold gauntlet. I stare into Thread's eyes as mine struggle to stay awake.

"Face it, you've lost." Thread replies with a victorious smile. He then lets my head drop, standing and turning to face the Venator standing next to him. "Stitch him up, and then when he wakes back up, pull the stitches out."

"With pleasure, sir." The Venator replies, and with that my vision turns to darkness and my head falls into a pit of despair.


	32. Save Me

The stitches come out quickly and without any form of grace at all. I scream as each staple and each little centimetre of wire comes from my skin and dangles in front of me.

"Having fun, Phoenix?" Thread asks with a cheeky smile as my wounds reopen ever so slightly. I hold in the screams as I feel the hot tears streaming down my cheeks. "You have a visitor. Sir!"

"It's fine, Commander Thread, you may leave us." Snow orders as he strides into the room with a large grin plastered onto his face. He moves a white chair in front of me and slowly sits down, laying his cane across his lap as he crosses one leg over the other. I feel my blood turn to ice as I watch him examine me with those devil eyes. "Well, well, well, I had hoped that we would meet again."

"Pissed you off, have I?" I reply with a hopeless grin, taunting my torturers is the only thing keeping me going. Snow seems to chuckle for a moment, leaning back further into his chair.

"Of course, and I must commend you, I fell for your trap just as you intended." Snow says as he inspects the large white handle at the end of his cane. "I threw most of my peacekeepers at this District, and now the rebels are knocking on the Capitols door, how many men do you think we both lost fighting over a distraction?"

"Enough." I reply with a menacing smile. I can be just as evil as you, you sick mother fucker. Snow lets out a hum and frowns slightly, leaning forward in his chair and resting on his elbows.

"Enough? You believe that enough men have died? Well, Mr. Greenlaw, many more are going to die. The Mockingjay has told the world that 'if we burn you burn with us'. It's obvious to me that I am on the losing end of this war, but I am able to end the largest and most rebellious district before the end." Snow threatens without ever breaking his gaze with me at any point during his speech. I stare back at him, neither of us willing to be the first one to break eye contact. "If I am to lose this war, then I'm going to make sure that District Seven loses with me. Imagine that, Mr. Greenlaw, all that history, all that love, all that nature, gone like District Twelve."

"We'd rather burn than bow." I reply as I spit in his face. Snow shuts his eyes for a moment, wipes his face with a tissue and then looks straight back at me.

"Oh, you'd rather burn would you?"

"Slowly."

"That can be arranged. Commander Thread!" Snow calls back throughout the building. Thread appears with the mas over his face.

"Yes, sir?"

"Organise to have him, and all his possessions transported back to the Capitol. We'll execute him there. Commander Thread, you will be travelling by hovercraft with me."

* * *

I'm sitting in the back of a large vehicle. There's another prisoner with me, a bag over his head and tied in cuffs.

"You there." I call to him as I struggle against the restraints that have pinned me onto the wall. It's obvious I'm not getting out these any time soon, and not while my body is struggling to keep itself together.

"Seth?" The voice asks back in both shock and confusion. I'd recognise that voice anywhere, with that slight District Thirteen accent ringing through it.

"Miles!?" I sigh in relief and laugh for a moment. "Thank fuck you're alive."

"Only just." He replies, sitting up and turning so that he is facing me, or at least nearly facing me.

"What happened?" I ask, hoping that maybe Miles has any idea on where the rest of the team might actually be. Miles sighs and lets his shoulder's drop, I'm not going to like this.

"I saw O'Brian and Heath get killed."The realisation that me and Miles are all that are left of the original team sends a deep ache throughout my chest. I sigh and let a few tears fall, I have failed them. "I'm not sure about the Outcasts, but they're too good to get killed."

"I thought that about..." I feel my voice crack as I struggle to say their names. They were both good men, and now the two of them are dead. Then I hear it in background, a faint whistling, then an explosion.

* * *

**Michael's Point of View**

Andrew lets the missile loose. It flies through the air with the extreme precision that I demand from soldiers under my command and crashes into the ground just in front of the lead vehicle. The remaining two transports behind it stop and peacekeepers start pouring from the back, those poor fools won't know what hit.

"Outcasts! Kill them all!" I scream as I watch the remaining eleven Outcasts charge down the hill with their weapons blazing. In my hands I have the Phoenix's weapons, which he dropped at the fort, which we now own. I'm sure as damn get these back to him.

I throw the weapons onto my back and charge along with the other Outcasts. The shock tactic works on the peacekeepers at the back, we kill them all within seconds, but the other peacekeepers take cover and begin firing back.

I hit the deck and begin laying suppressed fire down on peacekeepers hiding behind their vehicles. How did the rebels ever have trouble fighting such an undisciplined rabble?

"Andrew!" I call, and he appears next to me with the missile launcher. "Open fire, Andrew."

"With pleasure." He replies with a small nod. He takes a few deep breaths and then stands up and fires. The explosion knocks him off his feet and kills all the remaining peacekeepers.

"Fuck! You think they're okay?" Geth asks as he jogs beside me. I signal for everyone to hold for a moment, waiting for the right moment to see if all the peacekeeping fuckers have bit the dust.

"Move." I command to them Outcasts, they all push forward towards the vehicles and begin searching them, leaving me standing and watching the wreckage. Another successful ambush performed perfectly. I turn my radio on. "Ma'am, you read me?"

"I read you, Michael, and you can call me Kate." She replies which makes me grin for a moment. The Phoenix is a lucky man to have a military woman like her. "How are they?"

"We don't know yet, ma'am. We ambushed the convoy and the men are searching for the Phoenix and Sergeant Miles." I reply as I turn back to the wreckage, watching my peacekeepers rip open the back of the turned over truck. The whole world seems to slow as I watch Menna, one of our two female Outcasts, lower herself into the wreckage.

My breathing becomes deeper the longer she's in there. The Phoenix can't be dead, he can't be, nothing kills that guy.

Then I watch Menna lift up a body... No... That guy is alive... It's Sergeant Miles! The mask is ripped off his face and takes a massive gasp of air.

"Sergeant Miles is secure." I inform Kate over the radio, but she remains silent. Then the Phoenix is lifted from the wreckage, he's still alive, but he's in desperate need for medical attention. "Phoenix is alive."

"Oh thank god." Kate says over the radio with a long sigh. i can almost hear her crying in happiness.

"But he needs medical attention, how fast can you get a hovercraft here?"

"There's one on it's way."

* * *

**Seth's Point of View**

I awake slowly in a large green tent. I'm on my back with nothing but a pair of boxers on. I look down at my chest, the two large cuts are gone but now they have been replaced with two large and grotesque scars that spread across my chest and down my side.

I groan as I sit up and make my way over to a large mirror. I stand backwards and inspect the flesh on my back, large lines cover my back, looks like the Capitol finally took back the skin they fixed all those years ago.

I wonder how long I've been out for, it must be a few weeks if my cuts have healed so well.

"He should be... Oh! Lieutenant!" The medic exclaims as he enters the tent. I'm sure this is the medic that gave me the shot all those months ago. "How are you feeling?"

"Is he awake?" I hear from behind him. I know that voice anywhere. Kate. She bursts through the tent flap and runs straight into my arms. I wince as she squeezes, which causes her to release me and instead plant a kiss firmly on my lips. "Are you okay?"

"Fine, I'm just aching." I reply as I run my hand down the side of her face. Kate buries her face into my hand and smiles as warm tears of love fall down her face. "How long have I been out?"

"Only a day." The medic replies. I stare at him in confusion, how can my skin have healed so quickly? "We pumped you and Sergeant Miles full of medicine. President Coin's orders."

It doesn't take long for me to get back in my armour and limbered up. Michael came and handed me all my weapons, which I was very thankful for. I sit in the tent and withdraw the holo, Coin appears in the hologram it produces.

"Phoenix, I presume you're feeling well?" Coin asks with a small, and I'm not too sure if genuine, smile. I instinctively find me gauntlet covered hand wrapping around Kate's, I need her right now.

"I'm fine, thank you for the medication, ma'am." I reply as I keep my act as the "good soldier" up. She smiles for genuine this time and gets right down to business.

"We've sent the Mockingjay to the Capitol. The star team is there right now. Peacekeepers are pushing hard on District Seven. I want you to join the battle and finish this war." She says with a determined expression. I sigh through frustration, I won't be able to protect Katniss if I'm in District Seven and not the Capitol, and she hasn't long got out of hospital either. "We want to lose the battle in District Seven, force the peacekeepers out, and then we can assault the Capitol and take it before they can retaliate."

"You want us to deliberately lose?" I ask in shock, I can feel my hand tighten in Kate's as the reality sinks in. Everything I fought for may very well be lost in one fell swoop.

"So that we can take the Capitol. Have you ever heard the expression: 'Lose the battle, win the war?'" Coin asks. I stutter for a moment, not knowing how to answer. "We take the Capitol, the war is over." I finally cave, she is right.

"Okay." I reply. Kate's hand instantly shoots out of mine, I'm going to get an ear-full after Coin's finished.

"Good, we have a hovercraft waiting, your adviser will give you the rest of the information. Coin, out." The holo turns off and I slowly place it back onto my armour. I turn to face Kate and find her standing with her arms folded and tapping her foot.

"You're a fucking arsehole. You can't just let District Seven burn like this!" She challenges me with a low and angry voice, her face burning bright red. "Our home, Seth, all these people, they'll all die if we do this!"

"They'll be fine, we just need to district the peacekeepers fo-"

"Seth! Coin is going to get everyone in District Seven killed! All of us! If we let the peacekeepers take one bit of land they won't stop!" She starts shouting at me, I let m y shoulders and head drop. She is right, District Seven will be destroyed by this, but I can't let this war carry on.

"We need to stop the war. It's for the best."

"Not for our home! For our people!" She shouts back at me. I just shake my head back and forth.

"There's more on the line than just District Seven, Kate." I reply. She just stares at me as though her heart has shattered in two.

"What happened to my rebel?" She asks as she storms out of the tent. I sigh and slowly make my way from the tent, right now I have a war to finish.

When I walk out of the tent I find Miles standing before me, he last of my team in his uniform, ready for battle.

"This is it." He says to me with a determined voice and dead eyes.

"This is it." I reply as I indicate for him to follow me as we walk towards the airfield. "Are the Outcasts ready?"

"Aye, we're being dropped off by one of the small lumberjack settlements." Miles informs me as we walk towards one of the large hovercraft. No one in this District has any idea on what is about to hit them. "You ready for this?"

"No." I reply honestly as I step into the hovercraft with him and sit down. Michael and Andrew give me confident nods and then the back of the hovercraft closes. "Let's go end this war."


	33. Lose the Battle

By the time we reach the front line the battle had already gone underway. The sun had set and the sound of violence and death filled the air. Explosions go off in the sky as we hang on to the sides of our chairs we firm grips. The hovercraft comes to a stop and the back opens up.

"Outcasts, get moving!" I command, drawing my rifle and jumping from the back of the hovercraft and onto the stone floor that makes up the village. This place is being used as a forward operating post. We're the highest point for miles, and I can see the valley beneath burning and thousands of men and machine fighting till the bitter end.

"It's like something from a nightmare." Miles comments as we watch the balls of fire rise into the sky. Large explosions go off in the distance, and i recognise what weapon they are using. "That's some serious artillery."

"Aye, all the way from the Capitol." I add as another massive explosion rips part of the forest beneath us open. For miles all we can see if war and death, and I'm going to take part in the biggest defeat of the war. The most brutal conflict in all of the Capitol's reign. Is this what my grandfather felt like in the Dark Days?

"We're pretty much fucked." Miles adds as the rest of the Outcasts join us to watch the devastation below. I sigh for a moment, we're going to be heading straight into the fire on this one. "You know where we're going?"

"Adviser?" I ask over the radio. Suddenly my radio bursts into life and I hear his voice and my fiance's.

"They'll be fine." I hear him tell her. "Phoenix, this is Adviser, you've got enemy peacekeepers making their way to you from down the hill. I recommend taking up defencive positions inside the village, the rebels here should be able to assist you."

"Aye, Phoenix out." I reply. Turning to the Outcasts, they all stare at me for a moment, we've all lost so much because of this war. "You hear that?"

"Bight fight?" Michael asks as he stands to my other side. I give him a quick nod. "Alright Outcasts, two to a building, we're killing every peacekeeper that tries to take this village."

The Outcasts all cheer, split into twos, and begin jogging in what ever direction suits them best. Me and Miles diving into a small cottage along with another three rebels. I smash the window with my elbow and stick my weapon through the hole I just made.

For a moment everything is still. The only sound is of war coming from far away. Then the rounds start flying, and sounds of led smashing into the village fill the air. A red flare flies into the air and lights up the forest, the battle has started.

Peacekeepers start swarming from the down the hill in front of me. I fire as they charge over the slope and begin filling into what ever cover they can find, being vehicles or boulders sticking from the ground.

Miles opens fire on them, his weapon firing in full automatic as the air is filled with led and blood. Yet still the peacekeepers continuing pouring over the hill. A grenade lands in front of wall, forcing me and Miles to dive backwards. The explosion goes off and rips the wall open. We both scramble to our feet, shuffling backwards as we fire at the advancing peacekeepers.

We both slide out of the door, and I feel a round embed itself in my armour, forcing me to stumble to the ground. Miles helps me up and reloads his weapon. I hear dead man's click and I am also forced to reload my weapon.

"Miles, fall back into another building." I order. Both both walk backwards into one of the other wooden shacks, watching as the peacekeepers swarm the building we were just in and execute the three rebels on the spot. "We're getting our arses handed to us."

"Peacekeeper to the right!" Miles shouts, I dive into the right hand window and begin firing at the two peacekeepers running towards us. The two of them fall dead, another two kills under my belt, one that is drenched in blood.

Miles fires another burst into the doorway of the previous house as a peacekeeper moves around it. The rounds burst through his visor and splatter his blood all over the wall as the body slowly slides down the wall and onto the floor.

I hear a scream from the house opposite us, and then it bursts into flames. Two of my Outcasts run out, both of them on fire as they melt inside their own suits of armour. This is by far the most horrific moment of my life.

"Outcasts, fall back from the village, it's lost." I command. The remaining Outcasts all move in unison and dive into the treeline behind us, running down the hill as fast as they can. I fire a few more shots before me and Miles join them in their retreat.

We sprint through the treeline, before we all finally manage to have a moment of peace and stop at a small clearing inside the forest. The Outcasts form a circle and I count how many we have left, twelve of us if you include Callum and I.

"Where do we head now, sir?" One of the peacekeepers asks as she struggles to regain her breath. I instantly contact Adviser.

"Where are we headed, Adviser?" I ask with a hopeless tone. The battle is going worse than we imagined, but we're still holding a fair amount of ground. Judging by the reports Andrew has been overhearing, the dam is still held by the rebels, and the capitol forces are sending a massive wave of peacekeepers at it.

"Adviser to Phoenix, we have order coming in. Let me patch you through." He replies as I hear the static, indicating someone else has tuned into our frequency.

"Phoenix, you read? This is President Coin." I hear. Judging by how all the Outcasts all seem to stop and look to me means they're all listening to this conversation as well.

"We hear you, ma'am, everything okay?" I ask, Coin just lets out a fake laugh for a moment, we must be fucked.

"The Capitol have found a way to turn the tides, we can't let them acquire that dam, it will supply them with enough electricity to reboot a large amount of their weapon systems and slaughter us." Coin informs me. I look up to my men, and notice how they all seem to be exchanging worried glances through their blackened visors. "The only way we can stop them, is if we drop someone into the Capitol and take control of the artillery."

"You want us to capture the guns?" I ask in surprise, instantly thinking back to how this war all started, with me and my team being ordered to capture the guns, seems this is how it will end as well.

"Yes, there's a hovercraft on it's way to pick you up now."

* * *

The back of the hovercraft is open as we fly over the burning remains of this part of District Seven. I sit on the edge of the chair as I watch the war commence beneath me. How many mothers and fathers have lost sons and daughters today? How much blood has been spilt just so we can be equals? Was it really all worth it? Part of me says it was worth it, and all the blood in all of Panem being spilt for this cause would be worth it, but another half of me says that no one should die for an equal shot of making something for themselves. All people should have an equal start, and then they should earn their place through hard work.

I tune my personal holo to Kate's and hope that she answers.

"Seth." Is all she replies with, obviously still furious that we're all willing to let District Seven burn to end this war.

"Darling, we're going to take the guns." I reply, trying desperately to make some form of conversation with my fiance.

"I know. Images show that you'll be fighting your way across several rooftops to reach them." She replies, leaving an awkward silence between the two of us that we have never encountered before. We've argued, yes, but never this seriously. "Good luck."

The holo cuts out and I'm left hanging. Kate always loved District Seven, even if it was being ruled by a tyrannical government, I can see her taking a very long time to forgive me for what I'm doing here today.

I feel a light nudge from an elbow to my left. When I turn I see Miles give me a reassuring nod, one that I gratefully return.

"She'll be fine, just wait till we win."

"Yeah, I can't wait for that." I reply as I look back outside the hovercraft and watch the destruction unfold, I will never forget this night for as long as I live.

* * *

The hovercraft drops us off in the Capitol quickly and efficiently. We're on the roof of a set of joining skyscrapers. We've been dropped onto the lower one, a bridge connects the two skyscrapers, the roof of this one and a set of stairs about eight tenths up the other.

Me and and my team begin jogging across the bridge, all of feeling slightly nervous as we look down to the floor, god knows how high we are at the moment.

We all reach the seven foot high windows on the opposite side of the bridge. I fire a single round through it and then barge through the shattered glass, feeling the shards fall and rip the paint off my armour as we move through the building and up the stairs to the roof.

We remain silent for the most part, only firing whenever we see a stray peacekeeper patrolling the interior of the building. We reach the roof and find the peacekeepers waiting for us, they begin firing, a few rounds smash into my armour and knock me to the ground, but Miles manages to deal with them before they have chance to finish me off.

Geth jogs over to me, extending a hand, which i gratefully accept, as he pulls me back to my feet.

"Seth, place your holo on the gun." Kate orders throughout the radio. I withdraw the radio and walk towards the massive gun, larger than anything I have ever seen in my life, this is truly the most dangerous weapon in all of Panem.

I place the holo on the edge and let it get to work, watching as the gun seems to turn to face something else.

"Coin to Phoenix." Coin says over the radio.

"Phoenix, everything okay, ma'am?" I ask with a hint of worry, hoping that I'm not too late.

"The peacekeepers are focusing their attention on the dam, we're going to lose." She says over the radio. I turn to my Outcasts, watching all of their shoulders and heads drop, the thought of defeat sinking in. "We have once chance to stop the peacekeepers."

"What is that?" I ask, feeling as though my struggle was for nothing. We've all sacrificed so much to free the Districts, and now it all may be lost in a single night of bloodshed.

"Turn the guns on the dam, destroy the dam and flood the District." My world seems to stop for a moment as the though of destroying the dam fills my mind. I have know this was coming for some time, some part of me knew this was going to happen eventually, but I didn't expect it to happen like this.

"What!? Seth you can't do this! You'll kill thousands of people!" Kate shouts through the radio, I can hear the tears flowing from her eyes and falling down on the microphone she speaks to. I to the Outcasts and find them all looking away from me. I turn to Miles and watch as he runs his hand down the back of his balaclava covered head. It's only when Michael walks up to me and places a hand on my shoulder that I know what I have to do, there's a bigger to tree to cut down here.

"What are the co-ordinates?" I ask with a break in my voice.

"Seth! Don't you fucking dare do this! You'll kill everyone! Please, honey, please don't do this." She begs. I know the Outcasts are all listening to this, and as I take one last glance behind me as I stand before the terminal, I can see them all walking with me. Miles places a hand on my left shoulder, Michael on my right. Then all the other Outcasts join by placing hands on each others shoulders, all the damned rally together for a final act of evil to end the war. "Please don't destroy our home, please don't end it all like this."

Coin sends me the coordinates and I type them into the gun. I take in a deep breath and, with a shaking hand, press the fire button. A loud bang goes off that eaves a ringing in my ears. I turn to face where the dam is, watching as the shell climbs into the air, and then descends on the dam.

The large concrete structure breaks open and tonnes of water flies from it and starts to pour into the valleys below, ending the battle that took place there. Thousands of lives swept away in a wave of cold death and destruction, all to protect the rest of Panem from itself.

"Kate?" I ask over the radio, but all I am answered with is silence. "Kate?"

"She's gone, Phoenix, she stormed out just now." Adviser replies over the radio. I feel my heart break, she will never forgive me for what I have just done. "What now, President Coin?"

"Now, Phoenix, we want you to find the Mockingjay, and assassinate her." Coin's last order sends chills down my spine. I can't really do two acts of evil in one go can I? What is the use of assassinating a little girl like her?

"Why?" I ask, Coin falls silent for a moment. I turn to face the Outcasts, and see that they are all as enraged at the idea as I am. Destroying the dam was to save lives, what was the point of this? "Why, Coin!?"

"To inspire the districts." She replies. "Her death will martyr her."

"This is murder."

"And what you did just now wasn't?" Coin asks, and I can tell she's wearing that confident grin. The Outcasts all shake their head slowly back and forth, Miles rips his radio from his mouth and whispers to me:

"She just wants her out of the way, we can't do this, not after what just happened." Miles replies. I stare at him in shock, is he really thinking of disobeying a direct order from Coin. My Outcasts all nod along with their Sergeant. If my men can be this brave, then so can I.

"Ma'am?"

"Yes, Phoenix?"

"You can kindly go fuck yourself." I reply and turn my radio off. I look back up to my men, who have taken a step back and are waiting on my word. The morning sun is rising and I know that this is the last day of the war. "We can't leave the Mockingjay in the Capitol alone. Someone make contact with her."

Miles searches the channels for some form of radio contact using my personal holo. Suddenly we get a call through. Miles speaks into the holo for a few moments before handing it to me.

"Soldier Hawthorne, Seth." He says as he hands me the holo.

"Gale, where are you?" I ask in desperation.

"I'm with Katniss, Peeta, and a few others. They don't know I'm talking to you. Katniss is trying to Snow's mansion so we can kill him." Gale informs me. I look up to my men and find them all preparing their weapons.

"They're going to need a distraction." Andrew adds as he takes a few paces forward and nods to me. Michael joins him by his side.

"We're your Outcasts, we'll follow you."

The Outcasts all cheer alongside their two leaders, and I can't help but smile as I watch them all look to me, I could not have asked for a better group of soldiers.

"Gale, keep her safe, we'll make sure the peacekeepers don't catch you." I say to the holo. "Good luck, Hawthorne, I'll see you again, my friend."

"Good luck, Phoenix. Stay safe." He replies. The holo falls dark and we are left standing on the roof of a skyscraper, watching the sun rising.

"You do realise this will probably kill us all?" Miles asks with a small chuckle as he comes to stand beside me. He shrugs for a moment and turn me to face him. "Let's go save us a Mockingjay."


	34. Win the War

"The history books are going to seem strange. A group of soldiers destroyed the dam in District Seven, killing thousands of people, but refused to kill a single girl. Why? Because one was to win the war, and the other was to help a president secure power. I can't help but feel that, for once, we are defiantly doing the right thing."

"Aye, we are." I reply to Miles as we both walk side by side throughout the rubble of the Capitol. The Mockingjay needs a distraction, and we're going to give her one.

I didn't need to convince the Outcasts, they were already on board with the plan before I had come up with it. They all wanted the same thing, we all wanted to assault the Capitol, we all wanted to go after Snow.

And so we have. Here we stand, outside of the escape exit to the President's mansion. We all stand and wait, knowing exactly who he'll send, and who we will die fighting against.

"I must say, I'm impressed." Thread walks from the tunnel in the back of the cliff that connects to the lower part the Capitol. The large tunnel looks very much like the hangars of District Thirteen, just a slightly smaller. I quickly glance at my surroundings, destroyed building litter the city, and the streets are flooded with rubble. "I thought the last time we'd see each other would be in the Capitol, but under very different circumstances."

" I'm 'fraid not, Thread." I reply as I signal for my men to move backwards and into cover. Thread, caked in his armour along with about forty of the Venators stand before me with their weapons at the ready. I take a few paces forward, hoping I can delay friend that little bit longer. "Why don't you come down and we can settle this like men."

"I have the advantage." Thread replies, extending his arms and walking forward to the edge of the twenty foot high ledge that he is standing on. To either side of him lies marble stairs that his men will have to walk down if they get into a fight. "Why would I?"

"Because you know you've lost, and that you and all your men are doomed."

"Ha!" Thread replies as he stands on the edge with both of the swords that were on his back drawn. I think I'm getting through to him, and as long as he's fighting me, he and his Venators won't be able to get to Katniss. "I think we both know that's not the case."

"Most of the peacekeepers are dead. District Seven is destroyed. Rebel forces are entering and claiming the city. You are going to die today Thread, but you have an opportunity." I slide my rifle over my back and draw my sword and tomahawk, standing before him with my arms open as he is to me. "You can execute me now, and die knowing that you cheated your greatest failure. Or you can come down here and we will fight this like men, just you and me."

Thread stops for a moment. Slides his white mask over his head and points one of his white blades towards me.

"Venators, kill the deserters, this one is mine."

"Outcasts! Open fire!" I scream as Thread jumps down the drop and lands before me. I take a few paces back to move into the open, listening as the gun shots start echoing throughout the rubble. Venators against Outcasts. Thread against Phoenix. "Time to redeem my promise, your head will be on a spike."

Thread swings his swords wildly, and I parry both of them with my weapons. He goes for a side slice, but I step backwards and dodge it. He swings again, and I counter by catching the blade under the head of my tomahawk. I swing around and bring my blade down on his head, but he blocks it with his forearm and kicks me in the chest, causing me break free of his grasp and stumble backwards.

I quickly regain my balance as he lunges forward. I jump into the air and land on a fallen pillar, moving up it slightly so that he can't reach me. As he moves forward I jump over Thread, spinning through the air and slicing as I land. He expertly parries my attack, spinning my blade so that I fall to the ground.

Rounds are flying over our heads, but from quick glances I can see that my Outcasts are winning, they're in cover, where the Venators are stuck in the open.

Thread goes to bring his blade down on my from above, but I roll to my right and slice at his shin, cutting through the armour and cutting ever so slightly into his leg. I hear him wince in pain and watch him stumble backwards, I've drawn first blood.

Suddenly an explosion goes off, and I hear the sounds of one of my Outcasts burning. More explosions erupt and me and Thread are knocked off our feet. The battle has turned into chaos and fire fills the air, I get to my feet and take a swing at Thread, but he dodges and and stabs forward. His blade plunges into my armour, but luckily doesn't make any contact.

Another explosion sends both us crashing into the stone. I feel like something has been broken, or at least seriously damaged. My right arm feels ten times weaker in one go.

I struggle back to my feet, noticing that I have a slight limp. Thread stands off in front of me and swings wildly. I dodge each swing expertly, but he keeps swinging as I'm being forced further and further backwards.

Then he catches my tomahawk and sends it's flying through the air. I scream: "From the ashes I rise!"

Fire envelopes me but he still keeps swinging. My sword is in my drastically weakening right arm and I can feel my body failing. It seems this is how I'll go down, I'll lost to Thread. I feel a round impact the left hand side of my body, and I collapse to the floor. I lie on my back and look up at the white metal figure above me. Thread laughs for a moment and removes his mask, looking at me with evil eyes.

"This is for my father." Threads says with an evil grin, as he brings his sword into the air I watch him stumble backwards, an Outcasts has pulled him down. I watch in horror as I recognise the paint work, it's Michael. He brings my flaming tomahawk down on Thread and embed the weapon into his chest. Thread screams in pain, but soon the tomahawk takes his life.

Michael stands before me with blood pouring from his wounds. He chuckles for a moment as he falls to one knee.

"Make it count, sir." He whispers to me and falls down on top of Thread's corpse, joining him in what ever afterlife there may be.

I stand very slowly, pulling my tomahawk from Thread's chest and looking around. It seems no one is left. A lone Venator runs around the corner with his swords swinging, but I duck beneath his blades and stab him through the chest, ending his life in one swoop.

"Is anyone there!?" I shout as I walk back into the centre of the street, spinning around as I watch the world burn around me. Am I really the last one? I can't be.

"I'm here!" Miles shouts, limping over to me with his rifle in his hand, looks like he's taken a round to the leg. "I heard one of the peacekeepers, there's reinforcements incoming, and the rebels are struggling getting through the Capitol."

"We need to get Snow then."

* * *

Me and Miles stand before the escape tunnel. We look back at the carnage behind us, and I hear the distant sound of peacekeepers converging on our position. I move inside and press the button to close the door, but it's jammed.

"Shit, they're going to catch us." I curse as I move back outside and stand next to Miles, both of us as wounded as each other. I look back and notice there's another panel, why the hell would anyone put a close on the outside of an escape tunnel? Then the realisation hits me, one of us will need to stay behind. Miles catches on and laughs for a moment.

"It's never easy, is it?" He asks as he turns to stand before me. "I'll stay."

"No, Miles! I'll stay, you get Snow." Miles laughs at the comment and rolls his eyes.

"Sorry man, but I think you deserve this more than I do." He replies as he looks at me from the corner of his eyes. I am lost for words for a moment, how can such an amazing man possibly my life is worth more than his?

"Don't you dare say that!" I shout back tears streaming from my eyes, I can't do this again, I can't leave more people to die. I don't want to lose my best friend after all this, I've lost so many, I can't lose another. "You can go back to that girl from the Districts, live happily in Thirteen!"

"And you've got to make up for destroying District Seven. Look, Seth, you were not always a rebel, you were a person before all this." He takes a step forward to me and places a hand on my shoulder. "Once this war is over, I've got nothing. I'm a soldier at heart, and I always will be, I need this."

"Miles-" My comment is cut off by a fist that connect to side of my face. I stumble to the ground and feel myself get kicked into the tunnel. The door closes and I end up punching the glass with all my force, but nothing is happening. Miles stands on the other side with teary eyes.

"Go win the war." His voice comes over the radio. I sigh and draw my pistol and sword, I won't be able to hold my rifle.

"I'll never forget you." I whisper through the radio, standing a few paces back and giving him a small nod. "Make them pay for it."

"Oh, trust me, Seth." He picks up his rifles and cocks it. Turning to face the oncoming peacekeepers, I watch as Miles makes his last stand against the impossible odds. " I will."

* * *

I walk through the corridors of the Mansion, trying my best to find any sign of President Snow. My mind is filled with images of death and war, was all this really worth it? A peacekeeper stands before me and I execute him with my pistol on the spot.

Despite the Outcasts doing this, fighting all the way to the Mansion, I know that we will be remembered as monsters. As murderers. As deserters. None of the people who served under my command, the machines who were more human than anyone I had ever had the honour to meet, will ever be remembered for their sacrifices.

I break through the defences and end up in the main hall of the Mansion. It's empty, why the hell is it empty? An explosion goes off outside and shards of glass crash off my armour, but I ignore it and continue to limp up the stairs, remembering exactly where I will find my target.

I walk through the upstairs corridors and burst through the large wooden doors to the President's office, and there before me he stands, with no body guards at all. Merely staring out of the window with his arms folded.

"I don't need to see you, I know who came for me." He says to the window. I pant for a few moments, my pistol never leaving it's mark. "Have you come to kill me?"

"No." I reply as I move a few more paces forward. Snow turns to face me, for once sorrow fills his eyes and not any cold emotion that would scare even the bravest of men. "You'll see justice, just not by my hand."

"So you've come to apprehend me? To take me into your custody?" He asks as he takes a few paces forward towards me. I sigh and let my pistol drop, standing as upright as I am able.

"I've done enough today." I reply, turning my radio on once again, but never looking away from President Snow, neither of us have the stomach for this war anymore, but at long last, the rebels have won. "Adviser."

"Phoenix! You're alive!" I hear him shout over the radio, causing me to chuckle ever so slightly, and pain to shoot through my face from the previous fight.

"Don't make me laugh, my face is barely sticking together." I reply good naturedly. "I have President Snow in my custody, can you send anyone?" He falls quiet for a moment, but I can hear him speaking to someone else.

"Soldier's are on the way." He replies with a small laugh at the end, which turns into a cheer, it's good to hear him let his defences down. "War is over, Phoenix, we won."

"I know. Phoenix out." I look back at President Snow and indicate for him to take a seat at his desk. He sighs and slowly makes his way there, sitting in his chair for one last time. "War is over, Snow. You lost."

"I imagine you broke rank to come here. So, Mr. Greenlaw, we both lost this war." Snow replies matter-of-factly. He withdraws a bottle of wine from his desk and pours a glass, then pouring me a glass and sliding it over. "I swear to you, it is not poisoned."

"Why should I believe you?"

"I am many things, Mr. Greenlaw, but I am not a liar." He replies as he takes a sip from the wine. I remove my mask and join in him in taking a sip of the amazing tasting liquid. "In all our times together, I have never lied to you, and you know that is true."

"I haven't had a drink of wine since the arena." I reply filling my glass back up, I take the moment to fills Snow's back up at the same time. It seems strange, sitting opposite of the most ruthless dictator in recorded history and yet I know I am seen as his equal. That's when I lift my glass into the air. "To Panem?"

"To Panem." Snow replies, and the two of us join each other in drinking our sorrows away into oblivion.


	35. End of an Era

I walk slowly through the mansion. The war is over. Snow is custody. Katniss is alive. Peeta is alive. Gale is alive. Prim is dead, along with so many others. I sit on the step of the massive Mansion and watch hundreds of people walk through, all very busy, and none of them stopping to reflect on what we have all done to this beautiful world that we destroyed. How can any of them just carry on like this? I am the only one left without a purpose now that the enemy is defeated?

"It's good to see that you're alive." I hear from above me. I look up very slowly, and find Gale standing above me with a hopeless smile. I invite him to sit next to me, and he accepts. "How you holding up?"

"Shit. You?" I reply as I turn my head to face him. He just nods along with me. "I lost Kate, I tried to talk to her, but she told me she never wanted to see me again."

"And I've lost Katniss, I just delivered her the arrow that will kill Snow." He replies as we both sit together in a shared and unawkward silence. "I think I'll stay with the rebels though, there's still work to be done."

"I don't know what I'm going to do." I reply as I think back to what Miles told me just before he died. Is this what he meant by being a soldier? Not knowing what you're going to do with your life after the war is over? Hatred for the Capitol is all I've known, and now it's gone, like most of my home. I'm sure he was glad he died, because when his body was found his still had that evil smile on his battered face. "I may end up staying until everything is back it's feet."

"Let me guess, can't face going home?" Gale asks with a sad smile. All I have to do is turn my head to look at him and he knows my answer. "I have the same feeling, I was offered a job in District Two, to be honest I don't think I'll be able to face District Twelve while it's so..."

"Broken?" I ask with a small tilt of my head. Gale nods along with me, he understands the pain I'm going through right now. "I feel the same about District Seven."

"What about Kate?" Gales asks with a small frown, I instantly turn my head away from him, completely giving away that things aren't good between the two of us. "How bad?"

"We won't be seeing each other again." I reply as I struggle to hold the tears back.

"I'm sorry." Gale mumbles quietly, standing up and helping me to me feet. He extends a hand, and I return the gesture by grasping his forearm and giving it a firm shake. "If you ever find yourself in District Two, come and see me."

"Stay safe, Gale." I reply as I release his arm. He gives me a small nod and turns into the crowd, off to go do something that must be important for the recovery effort.

* * *

It wasn't long before I was called to see Coin, which didn't surprise me in any way at all. I haven't even had chance to see a doctor and she already wants me to meet with her.

I step into the makeshift office and find her staring at me with evil and beady eyes. Which President is worse, I wonder?

"You." She stands, walks over to me, ands slaps me across the mask. I do nothing back, but stand up right and act as the professional. "You disobeyed a direct order, and now, because of you, the Mockingjay lives."

"Yes, she does." I reply with a victorious grin hidden under my mask. No matter what happens, I'm still a rebel at heart. Coin bites her tongue, trying her best to hold back all the rage that is building up inside of here.

"I gave you everything!" She spits back with nothing more than pure hatred coursing through her corrupted veins.

"And took it away when you made me destroy the dam." I reply matter-of-factly. I really don't care what she does to me, I've lost everything I fought for anyway, so what is the point? "Do what you want with me, I've got nothing left."

"Don't you worry, I will find a way make you pay for what you have done." Coin replies, walking back over to her desk and sitting down with a very pissed off expression. "You'll be happy to know that you've been exiled from District Seven. The people know everything that happened with the dam."

With those few words my heart is crushed. Then this really is it, I've lost everything. District Seven was the only thing that kept me going, and I will never be able to see the forests again. I sigh and walk out the room ever so slowly, looks like i will be seen as a monster for the rest of my life. This was has, quite literally, cost me everything.

I walk down the Mansion and step outside watching the hovercraft fly over. Everything seems so quiet now, there's no guns shots, only people working to rebuild what's left of the Capitol. I look down and watch the civilians all working together rebuild homes, shops, anything that we have destroyed.

I smile for a moment, the first happy thought I've had since I watched Miles stand before the armies of the peacekeepers. He didn't deserve to die, neither did the Outcasts, if only there was a way I could trade places with them. They all deserved a shot life, not I.

* * *

Just to add insult to injury, Coin hasn't allowed me to stand with the Victors as we watch Snow's execution. I'm in the crowd, trying my best to blend in even though I'm standing in broken armour.

When I had walked through those doors, Snow had watched me with serpent eyes, smiling to himself as he watches me slide into the crowd like a phantom.

Snow is tied up, his face undaunting as Katniss Everdeen takes a step forward, she is meant to fire the last shot of the war. I watch as Coin makes a small speech and then Katniss takes her place on the spot. Her stance is strong, her face is bruised, and her soul is just as shattered as my own.

Everyone is watching as she notches the arrow, but it seems I'm the only one who's noticed something. That twinkle in her eye, she's not going to shoot Snow, she's going to shoot Coin. I can't help but grin at the thought. Together, my sweet Mockingjay, we can kill two birds with one stone.

In my head I'm planning out the entire thing before is has even happened, and much like a predator waiting to pounce I have moved myself into the perfect position to run President Snow through from behind.

Katniss spins on her heels and fires an arrow straight into Coin, who falls over the balcony and begins to fall. For a moment the world slows and I watch real justice unfold before me. All the true evil Panem will be destroyed today by two martyrs in a final suicidal crusade to avenge those they have lost.

I move with the crowd, my sword drawn. Snow chuckles to himself, and as Katniss is halted in her efforts to commit suicide by Peeta, I stab my blade into the laughing President.

"Now, I've made you pay for it." I whisper into his ear and I listen to the blood pouring from his mouth. I twist my blade, and draw it very, very slowly, allowing him to bleed out.

I move in front of him, watching his dying eyes focus on me as the life fades from his eyes. Peeta notices me as he holds Katniss' unconscious body in his hands.

"Get her to the medics." I command. For a moment he does nothing but stare at me, wide eyes looking at me. He snaps out his trance and nods at me, picking her up and moving her through the doors to whoever he can find that can help. I sheath my blade, and turn to see two soldier's looking at me with scared expressions. "Do you want to do this?"

"No, sir." The soldier replies, lowering his weapon. "But you just murder President Snow."

"And is that any different to what she was going to do?" I ask with a small chuckle as I stand before them, waiting to have a round fly straight through my chest. The soldiers slowly lower their weapons.

"No it isn't." The lead soldier finally concludes, staring at me with a conflicted expression. "I won't arrest you, if you can help us get some order here."

"Aye, that I can." I turn around and whisper the words, my armour bursts into flames and everyone stops and stares at me. "Everyone shut the fuck up and get yourselves under control!"

* * *

It didn't take long for me to be called to the stand. The assassination of Coin seemed far more important in the eyes of the public than the murder of President Snow.

I stand before a large group of officials, journalists, everyone who is trying to get their version of the story across the world. Paylor is to act as the judge, she is also running the country for the time being.

" Mr. Greenlaw, or would you prefer to be known as Phoenix?" Paylor asks as I stand in front of her with my arms folded. I'm still in my armour, and why the hell they let me in here with my weapons is beyond me.

"Doesn't matter, ma'am. We're not here about me." I reply as I watch her inspect me. I like Paylor, I must admit, she seems like a decent person. Or at least compared to the rest of the psychopathic murderers we've had running this country.

"Fine, then let me begin: All before you have spoken in defence of Katniss Everdeen, claiming her to be traumatised from her experiences. You were tasked with guarding her, true?" Paylor asks, trying to keep the playing field as neutral as possible.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Would you say her actions were justifiable?" Paylor asks as she rests her elbows on the wooden surface before her. I chuckle to myself for a moment and shake my head slowly back and forth. "Something funny, Phoenix?"

"President Coin made her fight alongside a broken and highly unstable Peeta Mellark. President Coin ordered me to destroy my home. Ma'am, if Katniss hadn't of shot Coin that day I would have skinned her alive." I reply with no emotion in my voice as I look up at Paylor, who is staring at me wide eyed, but there seems to be some understanding within those eyes.

"President Coin was a monster," I continue despite the shocked crowd, "and a ruthless murderer. I say we release the Mockingjay, not only for all she's done for Panem, but to spite the bitch who tried to kill us both."

* * *

It takes a few weeks, but the chaos caused by President Coin and Snow's murders were efficiently sorted, and following the trial to prove the Mockingjay innocent, I'm called to see our new President, a far better President, President Paylor. The trial involved me giving details about everything that has ever happened, it seems that everyone has decided to ignore my quick stabbing of Snow while I had the chance.

"I'm sorry to call you here, Phoenix." She says as I walk into her office. I find her seated at the end of the desk, looking through a file with a small frown on her face. "I understand that you don't want to be here."

"Thank you, ma'am." I reply as I take my place next to her. I'm not in armour for once, instead I'm walking around with my mask on and my arena clothes, it feels good to be back to some form of normality. "What did you call me here for?"

"I respect everything you've done for Panem, but I can't let you get away with disobedience and murder." She replies, looking up at me with sorrowful eyes. I let out a long drawn sigh, looks like I'll be imprisoned. "I've been in contact with Doctor Aurelius. He wants you to go to treatment with Peeta Mellark, after you've been deemed mentally stable again, you will be free to come back to me."

"Back to you, ma'am?" I ask in confusion, looking at the file that rests on her lap. She nods for a moment.

"I don't want to punish you for what you did, in fact I'm grateful for what you did, but I can't let you get way with breaking the law. So I've got a deal for you."

"I don't like deals."

"Neither do I, but I think we'll both like this one." She skips through the files until we come across a list of names, each with a description underneath them and a picture next to them. "These are Capitol personal who are very dangerous, and have escaped into the Districts. I can't let them escape."

"So after my treatment, you want me to hunt them down?" I ask with a small tilt of my head. Paylor nods along with me as I speak.

"Sadly, yes. After these twenty individuals have been assassinated or captured, you will be free to choose a Victor's Village to resume your life in." I go to speak, but she stops me before I have chance. "All except District Seven, your exile is pretty much permanent for the near future."

"Will I ever go back?" I ask with a deflated tone, I honestly would love to see my home again, but as she shakes her head slowly back and forth I can't say that I am surprised. "At all?"

"Sadly not that I can see, I don't think you'd be welcomed back home anyway. Coin made sure that you and the Mockingjay would be destroyed by this war, the two of you were both her biggest assets, and her biggest threats. All the files involving what happened that day have been either locked away or have gone missing." Paylor informs me as she hands me the file with the names in it. I stand up and move in front of her, my shoulders dropped low and my head hanging just as low. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault." I reply, looking down at the file and then back up to Paylor. "How long will all this take?"

"I don't know." She replies honestly, she's as unhappy about what she has to do as I am. Is this what it feels like to be a fallen angel? "Could take months, could take years. Either way, I know we'll be seeing a lot more of each other in the future."

"Thank you, for trying your best for me, ma'am." I reply, when I look to her she seems to be smiling ever so lightly. Paylor rests a hand on my shoulder.

"You'll get through this."

"I know, and thank you, ma'am."


	36. Epilogue - Part One

I lift my pistol and fire. The round flies through the salty sea air and embeds itself in the back of the retreating criminal. That's it, it's finished. It's been three years since the war has ended, and now I have finally finished my contract with Paylor. A peacekeeper runs to my side.

"Go collect the body, I need to speak with the president." I order. The peacekeeper gives me a small nod and jogs over to the body, organising other peacekeepers to help with cleaning up the beach.

I spent a year in therapy, I don't know how much of that was spent with Peeta Mellark. He was a good kid, and the two of us got on very well, he was released from the loony bin way before I was mind you.

The other two years I spent hunting down these bastards, those who had escaped the justice that the rebel government had been dispensing to the monsters that had once run the Capitol. Things are much better now, people aren't starving, and industry has improved the economy by a ten fold.

It's been a lonely few years, and now, after my twenty marks have been assassinated, I find myself standing on the beaches of District Four with that feeling again, that feeling that I don't completely know what to do with myself.

I withdraw the holo that gives me a direct link to President Paylor.

"Phoenix, everything okay?" Paylor asks over the holo. This President is far more relaxed than Coin ever was, and I'm glad that she took over from the new dictatorship that Coin would have established. "Is it done?"

"It's done, ma'am." I reply with my professional face still on. Over the past two years I've had to remain like old Seth for the most part, it's the only way to be ruthless enough to murder people in cold blood, even if they deserved it.

"Then you are free to roam. What do you plan on doing?" Paylor asks with a small smile. I shrug at her image in the holo, in all honesty I do have no idea on what I am going to do. "Well, I know of a certain person working in the hospital in District Four."

"Who?"

"Katniss' mother, I know the two of you were good friends." Paylor replies. I take a moment to think, maybe it would be worth a visit to see her. The last time I saw Mrs. Everdeen was when Prim was still alive, three years ago. "Do you want me to schedule a visit?"

"Yes please." I reply with a small smile hidden under my mask, it will be good to see someone I knew before the war broke out, there's almost no one left of that generation.

Two hours later and I'm sat in the hospitals staff room, sipping a cup of tea with my mask laid over my legs. The door to my side opens and I find her standing there, a mixture of shock and happiness on her face. I place my tea down, lay my mask on the table and stand.

"Afternoon, Mrs. Everdeen." I say respectably and give a small bow of my head. Suddenly my body is wrapped by her arms, did i really mean this much to her? "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, thank you. How have you been, Seth? It's been years." She says as she takes a seat at the other end of the table. I sit back down in my original seat and take another sip of tea.

"I'm okay, just looking for something new now." I reply with a small smile.

The two of us speak for nearly an hour. Debating recent affairs, discussing the old days, speaking about friends and family members that have been loved and lost. Finally she strikes a conversation that catches me off guard.

"Seth, do you have a home?" She asks with a small frown. I instantly stop speaking, until now i had been sleeping and eating in what ever peacekeeper barracks I could find, or if a family were kind enough to let me stay the night in their house. "Seth?"

"No." I answer honestly, letting out a sigh as I wonder on what I am going to do. Mrs. Everdeen places a gentle hand in mine and smiles.

"Remember when you helped my husband propose to me?" She asks with a small smile. I nod in reply, it was one of the most important days in history if we think about it. "Well I made you a promise that day, if you ever needed a place to stay, or if you ever needed help, you could come to me."

"If your suggesting marriage, I think the age gap might be slightly too large." I reply with a small frown and a tilt of my head. Mrs. Everdeen chuckles for a brief moment.

"No nothing like that. I'm going to visit Katniss and Peeta soon at their home in District twelve, would you like to join me?" She asks. I can feel the colour drain from my face. I haven't seen Katniss or Peeta in over two years, and I doubt Katniss would even remember me. Peeta would be a welcome site, but how would I explain everything to the Mockingjay? "I'm sure Peeta would help you, as far as I'm aware, the two of you were friends?"

"In treatment, yes." I reply. In all honest I'm not sure what to say here, but when Mrs. Everdeen gives me a reassuring smile, then I know that I will be fine. "Yes, I'd like that."

* * *

A week later and I'm stood in the District Twelve Victor's Village, hiding underneath my armour as I follow Mrs. Everdeen to the door of Katniss and Peeta. I stand to the side of the door as she knocks, nervously waiting for what the two Victors will say when they see me.

The door opens and Mrs. Everdeen is pulled into a loving embrace. Mrs. Everdeen talks at the door with Peeta and Katniss for a moment, before Peeta finally questions why she hasn't come in.

"Well, Katniss, Peeta, I have someone I would like you both to meet... again..." Mrs. Everdeen says slightly awkwardly as she taps her foot nervously. I can almost hear Katniss' brow crease in confusion. "Don't be shy."

I step out from behind the door way and stand before the two young Victors. They both look at me with wide eyes and shock. It's only when Peeta moves past Mrs. Everdeen and wraps his arms around me do I feel slightly better about myself.

"Seth! You're alive!" Peeta says with a large grin as he holds me at shoulder length.

"I'm sorry I didn't warn you." I reply with a small laugh. Peeta seems to click for a moment.

"Oh, Seth. This is-"

"We've met." Katniss replies with a small frown, her arms are folded and she's leaning back on one leg. Both Peeta and Mrs. Everdeen frown for a moment, I suppose me and Katniss did have to keep our interaction secret. "My guardian angel, appointed by Coin."

"Why don't we continue this inside?" Mrs. Everdeen asks, Peeta agrees and sheppards everyone into the living room.

"Do I leave my weapons at the door?" I ask for a moment. It does seem a bit off to let a person into the house carrying, a crossbow, rifle, pistol, sword, and a tomahawk. Peeta extends his arms and I hand him all my weapons.

"These are heavy." He winces as he places them down by the door. I chuckle for a moment and slide my mask off over my head and smile at Peeta.

"I thought a baker boy like you would be able to lift more than a few chunks of metal?" I ask in a joking tone, one that Peeta accepts and laughs back with me. Peeta sits me down in the chair by the fire place, Katniss sits next to him, and Mrs. Everdeen in the chair opposite. "How have things been in Twelve?"

"Great for us." He replies, taking Katniss' hand in his. She almost instinctively nudges closer to him so that she's cuddled up to Peeta, I can't help but think back to when me and Kate had the same thing. "And you?"

"I just got free from the Capitol, Mrs. Everdeen-"

"Please, Seth, call me Evelyn." She interrupts with a small smile. I give a small smile back.

"Evelyn offered to bring me up here." I reply, but the answer only seems to get a more questioning look from Katniss. I explain the situation to her, where I have been and what I've been doing, but it only seems to confuse her more, and Peeta ever so slightly.

"So, where are you living?" Peeta asks for a moment with a small frown, before I answer, Evelyn begins speaking.

"That's why I brought him here." Evelyn replies. I instantly get confused, what is she planning. "You have a spare house, can you he live there until he's sorted?"

"I see no problem with that." Peeta replies, but i can tell Katniss is a bit nervous about the idea, and Peeta can sense this too. "He's a friend, he was the one who dragged me out of the Capitol."

"Then we can't say no, but I still want to understand everything about you, you seem to know everything about us." Katniss suggests, looks like she wants to make sure I'm not going to be a danger to her or Peeta. I chuckle for a moment, I completely understand where she is coming from.

"How about this evening? And then you can watch the Fifty fifth Hunger Games and listen to the longest war story in all of Panem?"

* * *

Sure enough, we all end up watching the Fifty-fifth Hunger Games. I sit in the living room in a pair of Peeta's clothes and watch as a much younger and far more violent me rips shreds into Ludo. Evelyn managed to cry about five times during the three hour highlights that we watched.

Following that I sit down and explain the events of what happened in District Seven, me and Kate, Blight, Callum, and then I go on to describe the events of the war and how I had to follow Katniss.

By the time I'm finished it's half eleven in the evening, and yet my audience are still listening to me with great interest. Katniss whispers something In Peeta's ear, and I watch him smile greatly as he stands and moves over to me. I stand and smile back at him.

"Have the house, we'll be happy to let you live with us." Peeta says with a small grin. I go speechless for a moment, not knowing what to say to him. A smile breaks across my lips and I shake his forearm. "Will you be okay living in District Twelve?"

"Thank you, all of you, for everything." I say with a small bow, my eyelids feel heavy and I laugh to myself as I begin to yawn."I think it's time I go to bed."

"The house is pretty much empty, I'll help you make it homely tomorrow."

"Thank you, Peeta, Katniss, Evelyn, thank you all."

**A/N: So here it is, the first chapter in the three part epilogue. I didn't think the story would end as soon as it did!**


	37. Epilogue - Part Two

I breath in ever so slightly, keeping my crossbow trailed onto the deer as it walk slowly past me. I feel a small drip of sweat fall onto my mask, my unarmoured mask. I fire my crossbow and watch the bolt embed itself in the deer's neck, then an arrow impacts into the creature's spine and it falls dead instantly.

"Hell of a shot, Katniss." I say with a large grin as the two of us emerge from cover and begin cleaning our arrows and bolts from the kill. It's been a year since I moved into District Twelve, and the process of changing life styles wasn't easy. However, Paylor gave me a vast amount of help, and Katniss and Peeta had no trouble with me living in the village. In fact, they were glad that someone could finally drink with Haymitch and not get drunk within ten seconds. "Bit slow though."

"Shut up, I killed it instantly." Katniss retorts with a small smile as the two of grab a log and tie the deer to it. Peeta encouraged that me and Katniss hunt together, I think he felt that Katniss was safer knowing that Phoenix from District Seven was watching her back. "It would have bled out with you kill."

"Bollocks, and you know it." I call back as the two of us lift the log and begin the long walk back through the woods towards District Seven... Twelve... District Twelve... I snap from my trance and carry on the banter. "You're just jealous."

"Jealous of what? You couldn't hit a bear from ten yards away." Katniss shoots back. I lift a hand in the air and shake it back and forth, pretending to be deeply offended by the hurtful comment.

"Really, Miss Everdeen? Then explain how I shot that hovercraft down and you didn't!" I retort, remembering the battle back in District Eight. Katniss chuckles for a moment, and i can assume that she's rolling her eyes.

"I didn't even know you were there."

"But I was there, and I kicked arse." I reply as I breath onto my fist and pretend to clean off my t-shirt. Katniss laughs even more.

"I took out two hovercraft with a single arrow." Katniss retorts, now it's my turn to laugh. We both break through the forest edge just as we reach the edge of the District's border. Luckily, me and Katniss were able construct a small gate, so we could get in and out of the District with ease.

"You wasn't aiming for it though." I answer back.

"How do you know?"

"You told me!"

* * *

We follow the normal protocol when catching a deer, we take it into my back garden and string it up inside the small shed that me and Peeta set up so i had a place to store my vast array of weapons.

Me and Katniss work on instinct at this point, neither of us need to speak, we both know exactly what we have to do, and when the deer is strung up I can't help but smile.

"Are you coming over for breakfast? Peeta has made cheese buns again." She says with a large grin plastered across her face, I laugh along with her for a moment as I walk from the shed and lock it behind me.

"Aye I'll be there now, just let me get cleaned up." Katniss replies to me with a quick nod and walks around the side of my house and over to hers. I enter through the back door and inspect my house, Katniss and Peeta's escort, a strange but friendly woman called Effie Trinket, helped me redesign the place after it was give to me.

Most of the house is a shiny black, except for the orange walls and the fire red lower parts of the wall. She also couldn't help but paint a massive phoenix on the wall. I can't say I blame her, I did then decide the place my armour in a glass container there, standing at with it's head low and the sword and tomahawk crossed over it's chest.

I quickly check the bookshelves, Miss Trinket was also a great help in moving my stuff from District Seven to District Twelve, meaning we found all the old journals I wrote in and also the gear I managed to salvage from the arena, this includes Ludo's helmet, which sits quietly on the mantle piece above the fire.

My journals have all been filled, each with writings on my experiences throughout my life. I also went through each Hunger Games I could find and write a small book on each Victor. I included all of them, Finnick Odair, Blight, Linnet Easton, Katniss and Peeta. Each one has been stored in my library, and one day my version of history will be released to the world.

I move through my house and close the door behind me, smiling as the morning sun gets higher in the sky. I then hear that sounds I hear most mornings, Haymitch's geese complaining that their drunken master has yet to feed them this morning. I chuckle ever so slightly as I jog across the village and into Peeta and Katniss' house.

"I'm home." I call with a large grin on my face as I pick up my guitar, which I leave in their house on purpose, and take my place by the table, happily playing a soft melody on the soothing instrument. Peeta turns from the kitchen with a large batch of cheese buns in his mitten covered hands.

"Welcome back. Everything went well I hear?" Peeta asks as he removes his mittens and throws me a cheese bun. I catch it and let out a low groan as I bite into the flavourful piece of bread. It hadn't taken Peeta long to restart the bakery down in the District, and he always made sure he had the weekends off to spend time with Katniss.

"Another deer in the bag, should keep us going for a month." I say with a happy smile as I lay the guitar next to the table and begin licking my fingers clean. Peeta looks to me with a strange expression, one that I can't help but tilt my head to. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, we just have visitor." Peeta replies. I tilt my head even further, but then I hear two female voices, one being Katniss' and the other I faintly recognise. Katniss walks into the room and scurries next to Peeta's side, and then I hear another set of footsteps.

"Morning, babe." The voice says to me. My blood turns to ice at the sound of her voice, I can almost see my skin go pale on my arms, god knows what my face would look like if I wasn't wearing the mask.

"Kate?" I ask as I turn to face her in my chair, and there she stands before me, her long flowing black hair and her deep green eyes. "How?"

"Miss Trinket contacted me." She replies, remaining where she is in the house. I shoot a glance to Katniss and Peeta, both of them of which are grinning ever so slightly.

"Well, aren't you going to take the girl home?" Peeta asks with a victorious grin. I quickly curse to Peeta, even though it's jesting, and decide to take Kate back to my house.

* * *

I walk her into my house and sit her down in the dining area, set up exactly like our old house, but with different colours. The black walls in here have been painted with various orange tribal symbols, all of which are to help me remember who I once was.

"Tea?" I ask politely, but she kindly refuses. I offer her to sit down, but she also refuses that. For a moment I'm confused on what she's planning. "Why are you here, Kate?"

"For a second chance." She replies, walking over to me and wrapping her arms around my waste. I'm taken back for a second, not knowing what I should do next. My body reacts for me, and i find my arms gently slither around her waist like they once used to. "I tried to find you after the war ended, I spent years trying to find where you had gone. No one knew."

"It's okay."

"No, it's not okay, Seth." She shouts back, tears streaming down her face as I hold her at arms length. "I hurt you so badly, in the time you needed me the most."

"I-" My tongue catches and I stand confused, not knowing exactly how to react to her statement. I just sigh for a moment, nothing in my head seems to know what to say here. She looks up to me for a moment, slides my mask off my face and throws it to the floor. "There's been no one but you."

"I feel the same. Will you take me back? I've missed you so much." Kate asks with a small smile. I reply by pulling her to me and the two of us kiss slowly and passionately. I haven't felt this good in years, and my whole body seems to react to her touch. When I pull back I find her smiling at me with blushed cheeks. "I'll assume that's a yes."

"Na I was just using you." I reply with a small wink, which causes Kate to giggle for a moment.

Now in the videos I've seen, the couple normally run to the nearest bed and burn themselves out within fifteen minutes, but me and Kate try something different.

I take Kate to meet Peeta and Katniss properly. We spend the day with them, letting her get to know the two people that she'll be seeing the most for as long as she lives with me.

We speak mainly about what happened after the war. How Katniss and Peeta slowly grew back together over the years before I turned up at their door step with Evelyn. We talk about all the changes in all the Districts, and in great detail about how the valley's of District Seven were either drained or turned into lakes were cold water fishing now takes place. Looks like life blooms from destruction after all.

Only at the end of the end of the day do we finally get back to my house, and we both finally enjoy each others company under the moonlight.


	38. Epilogue - Part Three

It didn't take long for a call to come through after that night, a call saying that President Paylor had finally managed to convince her officials to release classified files on that night.

Gale didn't kill Prim. I was ordered to destroy District Seven. The entire world saw that it's guardians did not intend on destroying the world they had made, but instead gave way to a new one.

I guess I should have known something like that would have happened. I am, in a sense, part of the old world. In fact, I am the first rebel since the dark days. I should have guessed that I would have to burn in order for the reigme to topple. I guess that's what made the title of Phoenix so fitting. Thank you for that one, Caesar.

Yet when the information was received by Panem, and certain laws were changed, I had a mixed feeling in my gut about leaving District Twelve to return home. Part of me couldn't wait, I was excited beyond measure, but another half had a sorrow bubbling within it that I couldn't quite tame.

My biggest regret about leaving was Katniss and Peeta. Katniss wasn't permitted to leave District Twelve, and Peeta would never leave her alone, but luckily I could pull a few strings, and after all these years I am able to enjoy myself in my home.

* * *

I smile for a brief moment as I move back around my house. I brought everything I needed with me from District Twelve and placed it into my old house. This included painting a single wall pitch black, covering it with a phoenix, painted by Peeta, and placing my armour before it.

Yet now my armour does not stand with it's head down, and the weapons crossed. It stands tall and proud, with it's chest showing and the weapons in the floor to it's sides.

It took Beetee weeks to learn how to turn the fire mode off of the armour, a safety precaution just in case I mentioned the words and accidentally set the house on fire. Now the armour only ignites when I say the words whilst I'm wearing it, which I do when I'm invited to special occasions. There's been more than a fair few times I've been summoned to the Capitol to show the word that even those most hurt can bounce back and rebuild.

I chuckle and turn away from the armour, bumping into the boyish figure behind me.

"Can I have a go please, Dad? I won't burn the house down, I promise." My son says to me with a cheeky smile. I laugh and stare into his emerald eyes, he's nearly identical to me, or at least what people believe I would have looked like at his age. Unlike his father, my son never covered himself in bandages.

"Miles, I've been telling you since you was a child, you're not using my armour." I reply with a small chuckle and run my hand through his short and spiky jet-black hair. He rolls his eyes for a moment and withdraws the crossbow form his back, the crossbow that Beetee made me years ago. I smile for a moment, Miles Callum Greenlaw is everything I wish I could have been.

"Look, I'm sixteen now. Willow is coming over and I want to impress her." He says with a sheepish look. I lean back on one leg and cross my arms for a moment, giving him a playful look as his cheeks turn red. "I'm just saying."

"Have you asked Uncle Peeta or Auntie Katniss if they're okay with you asking their daughter about this?" I ask with a raise eyebrow. His face drops for a moment, and he quickly throws his crossbow back over his shoulder and sprints off up stairs.

I chuckle to myself and sit down in the dining area. It was luck really that Kate and Katniss became pregnant around the same time, and me and Peeta had always joked about our children getting together, but we never thought it would happen.

Then my second child comes and sits next to me, a steaming hot cup of tea in her hand.

"What was Miles so edgy about?" Claire asks as she sits down next to me and puts her feet up on the table. I roll my eyes, I would stop her, but I do it as well and she gets it off me. The penny drops when I don't answer instantly. "It's because Willow is coming over isn't? Please tell me it is, I'm gonna take the major pi-"

"Language."

"- mick out of him." She quickly corrects herself with a small chuckle. Claire was Miles' younger twin, and I love the two of them more than I love the world. She too has dark hair and emerald eyes, but no one can say she doesn't look identical to Kate when she was sixteen. "Come in, you take the mick out him more than I do."

"But I know when to stop, remember when you phoned Willow and asked if she would marry him?" I ask with a small smile. Claire spits her tea out and starts laughing hysterically, she does this quite a lot it seems. "What would your mam say?"

"Mam? Mam was the one who told me to do it!" She replies with a small grin and then a long sigh. She then looks up to to me and gives me a wicked smile. "So, when they arrive, me, you, piss-head, Willow, and Katniss going hunting?"

* * *

I give Kate a quick kiss goodbye.

"I'll make I'll have a cup of tea waiting for you all when you get home." She says with a small smile as I run a hand through her greying hair.

"And I'll be making cheese buns." Peeta says with a small smile as he limps over to me and places a hand on my shoulder. "I had a call from Miles earlier."

"Did you scare the shit out of him?" I ask with a small smile, but Peeta shakes his head slowly back and forth. I roll my eyes and sarcastically tut. "You're no fun."

"I gave him my blessing." Peeta says with a small smile, which causes Kate to wrap her arms around Peeta. "But you have to have the... talk... with them."

"I think we'll cross that bridge when we get there." I reply with a small smile. Peeta smiles along with me as Kate lets go.

"Take care of them." He says, saying the exact same line he says every time I go hunting with them. It didn't take me long to convince Paylor to allow Katniss to move between the Districts freely and without guard, now the Mellark and Greenlaw families see each other every weekend.

"I always do." I reply with a small grin and walk out of my house, giving a quick wave to my next door neighbour, Johanna, as she stops talking to Katniss and moves into her house. "You ready?"

"You kidding?" Katniss asks as she rolls her eyes. "I couldn't shut Willow up about this."

* * *

Both me and Katniss before the large shrine, we make this trip at least once a season, sitting under the willow that runs next to river.

So many names have been engraved on this tree now, all of them surrounding the large carving of a phoenix rising up the side of the tree.

Miles, Claire, and Willow have gone into the woods with their weapons, each looking for the largest animal they can get their hands on. Katniss looks to me for a moment, watching me as I take in every aspect of the large tree.

"You still have nightmares?" She asks with a small frown as I turn to face her. I sigh for a moment and watch the the river run behind the Mockingjay, the river my father taught me to swim in, and the river I taught my children to swim in.

"Every night. I sleep through it now, but I haven't stopped having nightmares since the day I killed my last target on the beach in District Four." I reply as I watch a large fish come to the surface of the water and eating a resting bug. "It took me a long time to explain why I have them to the kids."

"I broke down the day I told Willow and Rye about my Games." She replies as she enters a small world of her own. "I still remember when we sat all the children down and showed them both of our Games, I couldn't sleep all that night."

"Neither could I." I reply as I slowly stand and make my way to the edge of the water, watching the life teem beneath me. We both fall silent for a moment, neither knowing what to say.

"Do you regret it?" Katniss asks suddenly, leaving me in a state of surprise for a moment. I slowly turn to face her with a sad smile across my ageing face. "Do you?"

"Regret what I did? No at all, it needed to be done, but that doesn't mean I feel any less guilty." I reply as I slowly move towards the willow. I hear Katniss stand and make her way so she's standing a few paces behind me.

"I see Prim every day. Every time I look at Willow I see Prim, and I see Peeta's family in Rye." Katniss replies as she takes in a deep breath and sighs. Time heals wounds, but not all of them. "But I wouldn't have Willow and Rye if it wasn't for the rebellion, I wouldn't have Peeta, and we wouldn't be-"

"Free." I add at the end and we both fall quiet for a moment.

She's right, the rebellion was worth all the pain and the suffering. There have been many cases over the past few years where I have wondered if I had fooled myself, that I shouldn't have sacrificed so much.

Yet as I look at Katniss, and see the pain we both shared, the same loss and neglect we both were born into, and the knowledge that the children we have raised will never suffer that, I know it was worth it.

I think back for a moment as I turn to face the large tree, with the rising phoenix engraved into it. Me and Kate are officially all that are left from my uprising. The Butcher was old even when I was young, now he's gone. It wasn't hard to imagine William getting killed in the war, and that is exactly what happened.

My mind wanders to all the people who I know that have died. My mother, father, brothers, Claire, Callum, Mason, William, Hasta, Blight, Miles, O'Brian, Heath, Bryant, Pope, The Outcasts, Mrs. Snow, Liz, Marcus, Amor, the prep team, even Ludo. All of these people have changed my life in ways i can never imagine, and now they're all gone.

And I know there are others, the names I have forgotten, the faces that have slipped my mind, the actions that have become more questionable as I grow older, but to answer Katniss' question, I have no regrets. I would do this all again.

I would take the mantle of the Phoenix, I would rise from the ashes, I would be the Assassin, the Victor, the Ranger, the Lionheart, the Solider, the Officer, Friend. I would wear all these titles again, and again, if me and my family can feel this feeling once again.

As I raise my hand to the carving I can't help but smile, because for once in this life time, even after being the spark of the rebellion from all those years ago...

"I am free."

* * *

**A/N: So that was the final chapter in Spark of Rebellion: War-birds, and as such brings an end to a story that I've been writing since Decemeber 2013.**

**I'd like to thank Gentille Alouette for being my main source of inspiration and a massive help to me as I've been writing the story over the last few months, couldn't have done it without ya! And thank you to everyone else who has either read or reviewed the trilogy, including .7 (even though she thought I was a girl :P) , who started off reading from War-Birds.**

**This story was by far the most fun I have ever had writing, and I'm going to miss all the characters as Seth gets the ending I always planned. Thank you all for reading, and have a good day! **


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